Annoyances experienced when travelling by train

[nlogax]

Moderator note: split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/trivia-most-annoying-sound-made-by-a-train.211948/

Worst noise that comes from a train is from the passengers. Noise cancelling headphones ftw.

 

[PaulC1309]

Not sure of class but some of the ScotRail trains had a clanking motor/compressor that ran from time to time.

Also wheel squeal going round corners on underground trains with Cambridge (MA.) Harvard Square being the worst.

303 compressor? I miss 303s

 

[supervc-10]

Worst noise that comes from a train is from the passengers. Noise cancelling headphones ftw.

They help with the drone from under the floor too!

 

[Richard Scott]

Worst noise that comes from a train is from the passengers. Noise cancelling headphones ftw.

Especially those who feel the need to keep their kids entertained watching a film on a laptop or tablet with no headphones!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Especially those who feel the need to keep their kids entertained watching a film on a laptop or tablet with no headphones!

That grates, and if it is to someone's annoyance (which it will be if there is another passenger present) is a Byelaw breach. I wonder would Merseyrail's rentathugs write people up for prosecution for it? Or do they just care about feet on seats?

I once (ironically) got a round of applause for asking a family doing so to turn it off or leave the Quiet Coach of a Pendolino (they elected to leave). It shouldn't be done anywhere, but of all places it definitely shouldn't be done there.

 

[Journeyman]

That grates, and if it is to someone's annoyance (which it will be if there is another passenger present) is a Byelaw breach. I wonder would Merseyrail's rentathugs write people up for prosecution for it? Or do they just care about feet on seats?

I once (ironically) got a round of applause for asking a family doing so to turn it off or leave the Quiet Coach of a Pendolino (they elected to leave). It shouldn't be done anywhere, but of all places it definitely shouldn't be done there.

I can't believe how many people think it's even remotely acceptable. Unfortunately, anyone antisocial enough to do it may well be antisocial enough to thump you if you challenge them.

 

[xotGD]

Very annoying when attending a diesel gala and both front droplights are already taken!

When commuting, what I find annoying is folk not moving down inside the carriages, but just all packing in to the doorway areas. Sometimes people can't get on the train, even though there is still plenty of space. If you do manage to fight your way through them, you can sometimes even find a seat, never might a more spacious standing spot.

Very annoying when waiting for a TPE service at Oxford Road and discovering that it has been diverted and routed via Guide Bridge. Happened to me on several occasions.

 

[Halish Railway]

Kids playing Among Us on the train to school.

Excellent game involving social interaction, though it’s best left played in a private setting so that you don’t hear someone rage when they’re incorrectly voted out.

 

[Iskra]

Ping! Ping! Ping!

From one person's phone in an otherwise quiet carriage... How hard is it to switch it to silent or vibrate.

 

[py_megapixel]

Kids playing Among Us on the train to school.

Excellent game involving social interaction, though it’s best left played in a private setting so that you don’t hear someone rage when they’re incorrectly voted out.

This is doubly annoying, because those familiar with that game will be aware that conversation between players isn't permitted, except during the actual voting procedure, and you aren't told you have been voted out until after that has ended!

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

I am sitting alone in an otherwise empty carriage
Another person gets on and sits very close to me, grrr

 

[Gaz55]

Overly long announcements by the guard before the train pulls out.

Like other people have mentioned, children using the carriage as a playground.

A guard on East Coast once questioning whether my railcard was genuine.

 

[DB]

Worst noise that comes from a train is from the passengers. Noise cancelling headphones ftw.

The PA system is infinitely worse, with see it say it sorted and all the moronic safety annoucements, plus on some trains a full list of everything in the buffet.

And of course all the coronavirus drivel and threats about masks at the moment, in addition to the usual drivel.

 

[py_megapixel]

Announcements as follows:

"The 13:23 service to London Paddington is delayed by approximately ten minutes. Great Western Railway apologises for the disruption for your journey today."
"The 13:23 service to London Paddington is delayed by approximately eleven minutes. Great Western Railway apologises for the disruption for your journey today."
"The 13:23 service to London Paddington is delayed by approximately twelve minutes. Great Western Railway apologises for the disruption for your journey today."
"The 13:23 service to London Paddington is delayed by approximately thirteen minutes. Great Western Railway apologises for the disruption for your journey today."
"The 13:23 service to London Paddington is delayed by approximately twelve minutes. Great Western Railway apologises for the disruption for your journey today."
"The 13:23 service to London Paddington is delayed by approximately fourteen minutes. Great Western Railway apologises for the disruption for your journey today."

For crying out loud, you already said it was approximate, 1-2 minute changes don't need their own announcement!

 

[Gloster]

I dislike (intensely) the sound of the keys of a laptop which make a slight clicking when hit. It reminds me of Posy Simmonds description many years ago of the sound of someone else’s Walkman: like mice tap-dancing on the lid of a biscuit tin.

 

[Ianno87]

People striking up a conversation with you when you're quite clearly trying to read / work / sleep.

 

[Ianno87]

That grates, and if it is to someone's annoyance (which it will be if there is another passenger present) is a Byelaw breach.

Only if the other passenger *finds* it annoying. Which a surprising number of passengers actually don't care, or just blank it out. I never let it bother me...so it doesn't bother me.

[Quiet Zones don't count, as people are clearly there expecting...quiet]

 

[Bletchleyite]

Only if the other passenger *finds* it annoying. Which a surprising number of passengers actually don't care, or just blank it out. I never let it bother me...so it doesn't bother me.

Well done for having that level of self-control. For me, it's not about letting it or not letting it, it just does. I think it's connected with the brain having an issue with "unknown sounds" - similar to someone with "tss-tss-tss" coming out of headphones - you can't hear it properly so your brain tries to work out what it is, like it or not.

It wouldn't actually bother me if a film was being shown on screens in the train, and the volume was such that I could hear it properly, even if I didn't want to watch it!

TBH I think that Byelaw needs amending to remove the "annoyance" clause and simply make the playing of an audio device on a train or station other than via headphones an offence. It's just rude and there's absolutely no need for it. If you've got two kids, headphone splitters are available for a couple of quid (stack them up if you've got four kids), or with Bluetooth ones you can probably connect more than one pair at once.

 

[DB]

TBH I think that Byelaw needs amending to remove the "annoyance" clause and simply make the playing of an audio device on a train or station other than via headphones an offence. It's just rude and there's absolutely no need for it. If you've got two kids, headphone splitters are available for a couple of quid (stack them up if you've got four kids), or with Bluetooth ones you can probably connect more than one pair at once.

Either way, it's very unlikely to be enforced, unfortunately!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Either way, it's very unlikely to be enforced, unfortunately!

I would genuinely be interested to know if Merseyrail's Byelaw Officers (to give them their proper title rather than the joke one above) would intervene. It certainly annoys me several orders of magnitude more than feet on seats do, not that the latter is acceptable.

Personally, I think traincrew should ask people to turn it off if they witness it while passing through the train. Obviously some won't comply, but many will.

 

[507021]

I am sitting alone in an otherwise empty carriage
Another person gets on and sits very close to me, grrr

Tell me about it. A few years ago, I'd just sat myself down at a table seat on an empty 156, then the next person to get on decides to sit next to me. Excuse me, but there's a whole train full of empty seats, why do you have to sit next to me?

In a similar vein, some absolute cretin who'd sat next to me on a full train (fair enough), decided to let every passenger of said full train get off before moving, despite me asking politely at least five times if they could move so I could make a connection on the underground platform. Thankfully, I managed to catch my connection with about a minute to spare.

 

[Ianno87]

I would genuinely be interested to know if Merseyrail's Byelaw Officers (to give them their proper title rather than the joke one above) would intervene. It certainly annoys me several orders of magnitude more than feet on seats do, not that the latter is acceptable.

Personally, I think traincrew should ask people to turn it off if they witness it while passing through the train. Obviously some won't comply, but many will.

I'd rather the officers and staff focused on deterring ticketless travel, violent crime and sexual offences than a bit of slightly annoying music, TBH. You always have the option of moving yourself.

 

[bramling]

People striking up a conversation with you when you're quite clearly trying to read / work / sleep.

One that really annoys me, in any situation, is when someone tries to strike up a conversation whilst I’m clearly in the middle of a phone conversation. I find that intensely rude as well as demonstrating a complete lack of awareness. I had it twice whilst at work yesterday, and both received a mouthful of situational awareness advice.

 

[py_megapixel]

I'd rather the officers and staff focused on deterring ticketless travel, violent crime and sexual offences than a bit of slightly annoying music, TBH. You always have the option of moving yourself.

I don't think there's a significant amount of violent crime or sexual offence on the typical mid-morning train in the summer holidays, which seems, as one might expect, to be the popular time for parents with children to travel.

It's just a matter of saying "could you turn the volume down please"
No different to "could you take your suitcase out of the aisle please" or "could you stand over there please, I need to get to the door control panel"

 

[greyman42]

Passengers who think they need to shout into their mobile phones to be heard at the other end.

 

[py_megapixel]

Passengers who think they need to shout into their mobile phones to be heard at the other end.

And, in a similar vein, station announcers who think they need to shout into the mic.

Microphones exist to amplify your voice so that you don't have to shout. If you shout, then you create a clipped, distorted sound at the other end.

 

[Ianno87]

I don't think there's a significant amount of violent crime or sexual offence on the typical mid-morning train in the summer holidays, which seems, as one might expect, to be the popular time for parents with children to travel.

It's just a matter of saying "could you turn the volume down please"
No different to "could you take your suitcase out of the aisle please" or "could you stand over there please, I need to get to the door control panel"

Or, shock horror, passengers could just quietly and politely ask directly themselves. It's amazing how reasonable the majority of people actually are if you talk to them nicely.

 

[Ianno87]

Passengers who think they need to shout into their mobile phones to be heard at the other end.

I had an older lady do this in the Quiet Zone across the table, and it was so hilarious I couldn't possibly intervene (another passenger eventually did)

"HI GENE, IT'S ME. I SAID IT'S ME. I GOT THE TRAIN OK. I SAID I GOT THE TRAIN OK! DID YOU GET THE THING ON THE SHELF? NO, I MEANT THE OTHER SHELF!..." (and so forth)

 

[py_megapixel]

Or, shock horror, passengers could just quietly and politely ask directly themselves. It's amazing how reasonable the majority of people actually are if you talk to them nicely.

The problem with that is that many people simply aren't social and prefer not to talk to random members of the public... train conductors on the other hand are trained in customer service and are used to dealing with customers on a regular basis, as it's a significant part of their job.

If it happened to me, then yes I would probably be asking whoever was responsible myself. But I can understand that not everyone wants to, and on a day when I am feeling tired and just want to get home in peace, I probably wouldn't want to...

 

[Ianno87]

The problem with that is that many people simply aren't social and prefer not to talk to random members of the public...

Makes you wonder how these people cope with day to day life.