VTEC: Missing the first class quiet coach already!

[All Line Rover]

But if the First class coach was full of people doing business - clearly this is one of the advantages of rail over air in the first place - it is those people who would not want a quiet coach, which would seem to outweigh those who do want one!

'Doing business' is not a synonym for 'constantly nattering on a phone'. 'Business' can include typing on a laptop, reviewing documents or mentally preparing for a speech or meeting.

 

[All Line Rover]

My own, anecdotal, view is, that quiet coaches are always carrying fresh air around. Whilst the rest of the train remains heavily loaded. This was XC problem when they had a quiet coach on voyagers 3 coaches of sardines, one with empty seats. It made no sense at all.
Personally, if I want peace and quiet I go by car, but part of the fun of train travel is the social aspect. Why sit is silence as if in a Library? Very boring, give me conversation and families playing any day. I enjoy overhearing everyones phone calls, relax and enjoy it.

My own, anecdotal, observations show that quiet coaches are rather popular. When travelling in standard class without a reservation on VTWC I quite commonly have to occupy a seat in some other coach on finding the quiet coach (A) to be full. Never the reverse. XC might be different with the large proportion of short distance passengers who may be less desirous of a quiet coach. However, VTWC's quiet coach seems particularly popular on the London to Chester / North Wales and Birmingham to Scotland trains - the quiet coach can be full while certain other standard class coaches (on Voyagers, only Coach C) carry people who can be counted on two hands.

Personally, I find car travel stressful and wasteful - it is disproportionately pollutive, one must constantly be on alert and much time can be spent stuck in congestion. Part of the fun of train travel is the speed, the guarantee of either a (nearly) fixed arrival time or else a cheaper or free journey, the ease with which a city centre is reached and the ability to work on the go. Why pay a premium for train travel if the ability to concentrate on complex work is foregone - a potential key advantage of train travel is lost - because every carriage is boisterous? If you enjoy overhearing phone calls and being surrounded by conversation because, if these were absent, you would spend your time staring at the floor twiddling your thumbs, then good news! There are few quiet coaches around and you should never be forced to occupy one.

 

[Mag_seven]

Have we not done Quiet Coaches to death over the years

Typical comments are:

"Its a quiet coach, not a silent coach"
"Just stick your headphones on if you want to blot out other people's noise"
"Quiet coaches are always busy so we should keep them"
"Quiet coaches are always empty so we should get rid of them"
"Its pubic transport, if you don't like it go by car"
"Quiet coaches should be abolished because its too much extra hassle for guards to enforce them"

etc etc

 

[SaveECRewards]

I believe coach A in the GWR sets is a quiet coach.

That's true. I was showing current VTEC plans. So on a single 5 car formation there'd be no quiet coach under VTEC plans and so it'd only be on 9 car or 2x5. Perhaps it should be called the phone free coach (although that might also confuse people, need a better term) something to highlight the main issue is people on phones. Playing music out loud should be discouraged anywhere in the train.

 

[All Line Rover]

A standard class quiet coach works well enough on VTWC's Voyagers (all 5-car, with a similar number of standard class seats to the 5-car Azumas), so why would the 5-car Azumas be different?

Unless Virgin envisage(d) them to be permanently overcrowded where, as with XC, 'amazing' shorter trains replace longer trains (there is still a quiet coach on XC's HSTs, remember).

 

[SaveECRewards]

A standard class quiet coach works well enough on VTWC's Voyagers (all 5-car, with a similar number of standard class seats to the 5-car Azumas), so why would the 5-car Azumas be different?

Unless Virgin envisage(d) them to be permanently overcrowded where, as with XC, 'amazing' shorter trains replace longer trains (there is still a quiet coach on XC's HSTs, remember).

Who knows their thinking, but that's what was in their plans at the time. Of course they might change, particularly now with LNER.

 

[pnepaul]

The other day I travelled from Crewe to Euston. I was in coach F, which was almost full and erm quiet all the way to Euston!

 

[Hadders]

I think quiet coaches should remain on 'full length' trains.

I find the ambience in the quiet coach far more civilised than in a normal coach. In fact I regard the quiet coach as a sort of 'Standard Plus'.

One of the reasons some might say the quiet coach is under utilised is because it's normally at the far end of the train. These cars are often quieter than the rest of the train simply because most passengers can't be bothered to walk to the front of the train.

 

[greyman42]

I think quiet coaches should remain on 'full length' trains.

I find the ambience in the quiet coach far more civilised than in a normal coach. In fact I regard the quiet coach as a sort of 'Standard Plus'.

One of the reasons some might say the quiet coach is under utilised is because it's normally at the far end of the train. These cars are often quieter than the rest of the train simply because most passengers can't be bothered to walk to the front of the train.

To me, the quiet coach (standard) always seems to be busy with a lot of reservations.

 

[route101]

But if the First class coach was full of people doing business - clearly this is one of the advantages of rail over air in the first place - it is those people who would not want a quiet coach, which would seem to outweigh those who do want one!

Personally I always book Quiet coaches in standard class, even if there is some noise it's still better than the heavily reserved Coach Cs of the world.

Try XC HST Coach C , think its the unreserved but i selected to reserve a seat in it .

 

[Deafdoggie]

Try XC HST Coach C , think its the unreserved but i selected to reserve a seat in it .

The default reservation coach is D. Then C & finally F. If there’s a B it’s totally unreserved as only the 5 coach voyagers have them, it avoids any problems if a unit swaps. You can select your own seat in D, C or F if booking on XC own website. Even on HST’s though, you can’t book coach B

 

[jayah]

I guess, I do notice it a little but mainly the squeak of the corridors make it noisy. I know a while back I was on a HST in the TGS on a GWR service and a woman opposite said to fishquinn who was with me to be quiet and he told her its quite coach not silent coach. She had loud music on before hand and the vestiblue windows where open and the noise of the train I was surprised she could here us talking quietly to each other.

The Quiet Coach IMX means somewhere everybody expects everybody else to be silent and expects themselves to be able to make as much noise as they like. As XC have discovered, it simply doesn't work on a 5 car train, even in Standard, so how it ever works in First Class is even more mind boggling.

 

[JaJaWa]

When I'm in the Quiet Coach, I'm annoyed at people talking loudly as it feels like they're breaking the rules. I don't get this feeling in the other carriages – therefore I prefer not to be in the Quiet Coach!

 

[al78]

Part of the fun of train travel is the speed.

Only for long journeys, and even then not always.

Some journeys on the Southern network which require a change are no faster than if I had cycled the full journey (allowing time to get to the station to buy a ticket, then getting from station to destination adds significant time). Even going from Horsham to Salford the train is only faster than the car if there is significant traffic congestion en-route, and there are no rail delays. Once you add in the time taken to get too and from stations the train often loses any speed advantage.

 

[al78]

When I'm in the Quiet Coach, I'm annoyed at people talking loudly as it feels like they're breaking the rules. I don't get this feeling in the other carriages – therefore I prefer not to be in the Quiet Coach!

They are, but it illustrates the point that there is no point in having rules if they are not enforced. Either have a quiet coach and regulate noise levels or don't bother with a quiet coach at all.

 

[al78]

Have we not done Quiet Coaches to death over the years

Typical comments are:

"Its a quiet coach, not a silent coach"
"Just stick your headphones on if you want to blot out other people's noise"
"Quiet coaches are always busy so we should keep them"
"Quiet coaches are always empty so we should get rid of them"
"Its pubic transport, if you don't like it go by car"
"Quiet coaches should be abolished because its too much extra hassle for guards to enforce them"

etc etc

Ha ha, yes, you could probably write software to emulate the standard responses on here, then put it in for the Turing test.