Quiet Carriage / Coach: restrictions and issues - ongoing discussion, merged topic

[whole diary]

[inspector_blakey]

As mentioned in other countries such as Germany and The Netherlands, any of the very few percentage of people who make or receive a call on their mobile talk at a low volume and respect fellow passengers.  And the conversations are usually much much shorter.  None of this stupid inane babble, babble, babble about where they went at the weekend, what clothes they brought, what they're having for tea, etc, etc.  Why can't people be more like this here in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)?

Yawn yawn yawn... Everything's better in Europe. Of course. Unless you speak fluent German or Dutch how do you know what they're chattering about, anyway?

Also clear PA^▸ (Public Address) announcements that this is a Quiet Zone and talking on mobile phones is NOT permitted.

Rather detracts from the idea of a quiet carriage, doesn't it, if you're frequently barked at to keep the noise down?

On an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) only ONE Standard Class carriage is a Quiet Zone, there are FOUR other carriages available for passengers who wish to use their mobile.

Yes, and if you've used them more than once in a blue moon you'll know that seats can be thin on the ground sometimes and coach A is one of the best places to find them. If the only available seats are in A then I'll sit there, silence my mobile and remove myself if I need to take a call. Others may not take the same attitude.

[BerkshireBugsy]

I think part of the problem regarding the use of mobiles and conversation levels in general is that the pa announcements are not consistent. For example, on the hst service I use frequently the announcement regarding the quiet carriages can be

" please keep noise levels to a minimum  when using mobile phones or portable devices"

Or

"the use of mobile phones or other devices is not permitted"

There are other variations and the above wording may not be exactly correct but the announcements do vary.

[pbc2520]

I'm sure I don't need to remind you that if you deliberately set out to block mobile phone signals, you're breaking the law, whether using an active or passive mechanism.  So you need to take a much more ingenious approach, like building your railway underground... those extra billions of pounds will be worth it after all!

Ahh, but it seems likely that one of the worlds largest underground networks will shortly have mobile phone coverage:

http://www.t3.com/news/huawei-to-provide-london-underground-mobile-coverage

Strange, I thought that all fell through for LU:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12928102
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12936042
The date on the article you gave suggests it is now back on but I can't find any other reference.

[pbc2520]

One thing they need to do is put more signs up in the carriage. The odd sticker on the windows won't work! How about one on each seat back?

Stickers?  Pah!  We need to turn to technology here and who better... the Japanese, who have just created a 'silence gun'!  This paves the way for a specialist team of 'sound level enforcement officers', to patrol the quiet carriages and 'shoot' the worst offenders!   

[inspector_blakey]

I have separated out the discussion on smoking at stations that was developing within this thread: you can now find that as a separate topic here.

[johoare]

I was on a quiet carriage this evening in First Class.. There were some people standing who weren't first class customers (or they'd have sat down!!) and some were talking.. The guy on the table next to me told them to be quiet as it was a quiet carriage...It almost made me stop listening to my mp3 player but I know that no one apart from me can hear what I'm listening too as I've checked it out it before.. But I did test it again at that point... He didn't say anything to me tho anyway so all good...

Well all good apart from the train manager not making an appearance or checking tickets..But that's not for this topic 

[chrisoates]

I was on a quiet carriage this evening in First Class.. There were some people standing who weren't first class customers (or they'd have sat down!!) and some were talking.. The guy on the table next to me told them to be quiet as it was a quiet carriage...It almost made me stop listening to my mp3 player but I know that no one apart from me can hear what I'm listening too as I've checked it out it before.. But I did test it again at that point... He didn't say anything to me tho anyway so all good...

Well all good apart from the train manager not making an appearance or checking tickets..But that's not for this topic 

In Cornwall the usual TM^‡(resolve) announcement is no mobile phones and mp3 players kept to a reasonable level.

[grahame]

"Quiet Carriage" yet the guy takes a call.   Train Manager says "excuse me sir" and guy says to his contact "the conductor rudely interrupted me";  I comment "I didn't think that was at all rude, and this IS the quiet carriage.  Guy says he doesn't see any signs - I point out one right in front of him, right across the top of the window.  "But where does it say no phones" and he stalks off.  Why smile from chap across - "an unwinnable argument he says and smiles, and a pleasant  ethos of fellow travellers who have positively interacted descends.

Come Didcot, the guys not back, and I'm delighted when a lady take the seat - "is this seat taken".   "Don't think so" I reply "the guy went off to make a phone call and I don't see any of his stuff still here".  I can hear a phone converastion from the lobby at the end of the carriage - I suspect I've contributed to a bad-tempered morning on his part - not that I think that takes very much!

Question - with no announcements apart from the buffet sales pitch, and just the word "quiet carriage" along the top of the window, where DO newcomers find the rules these days?

[stationstop]

Some sets have a placard sat within the safety card holder that has the quiet carriage info. There are usually announcements and like you said, the stickers are hardly discreet.

Sounds like the passenger knew the rules exactly. He just chose to be obnoxious.

[grahame]

Sounds like the passenger knew the rules exactly. He just chose to be obnoxious.

Agreed.   Announcements did NOT include "quiet carriage" stuff this morning - security announcement and buffer adverts only, and there wasn't anything in the safety cards.

He hadn't been best please when I asked for access to the inner seat ... I really didn't want to stand Chippenham to London!

[thetrout]

He hadn't been best please when I asked for access to the inner seat ... I really didn't want to stand Chippenham to London!

I occasionally get asked for the window seat and am normally always happy to oblige*

However I do get slightly irked up when the requesting passenger expects me to "move up to the window" At the risk of causing a Nuclear Thread, If I wanted to sit in the window seat, surely I would have sat there first?

There have been very few occasions where a passenger has refused the inner seat... What does thetrout do? Sits back down in the aisle seat. Said pax who is probably in a foul mood now, or thinks that I am being extremely rude goes and finds a seat elsewhere... Or throws the comment "So you're just going to leave me standing here?" To which my answer is a polite, yet simple Yes!
Only EXTREMELY rarely do I take the window seat. If I do take the window seat with you sat next to me, then you are alot more than just an approved trout

* Unless companion is sat in seat and has gone to Buffet/Karzi etc.

*lobs tin of worms and jumps onto train *

[grahame]

Slightly different ...  I was looking for the bulkhead (not window on that row) seat simply because it was just about the only one unoccupied in the area; had he moved up, I would have been equally happy.   I suspect he had chosen the aisle in order to have a good chance of not having a companions for the journey.

I tend (personally, if given a choice) to sit on an inner seat if I'm going a long way, and an outer seat for just a station or two. On the same basis as going on the top of a double deck bus for a longer journey.   And if asked for the inner seat, simply move aside to let the person in; I can't recall moving over, nor being asked to do so.  I wouldn't expect such a request, but would probably meet it because it  would most likely be clearly and strongly preferred, and asked politely. 

[broadgage]

I recently saw a good misunderstanding on the down Golden Hind. Two smartly dressed "city types" were enjoying a meal in F, the restaurant when one wished to take a phone call.
Clearly considering it ill-mannered to use a phone at the dinner table, he rushed into G which is meant to be the quiet coach, shouted a bit and then returned to F !
Shortly afterwards, his friend rushed into G, again to avoid disturbance to fellow dinners !

A little later, the train manager advised the two gents that "you should not use mobile phones in the quiet coach" To which they replied  "we did not, we where carefull to go into the next coach"

[thetrout]

There was also that set running around not long ago which had 2 coach G's in it. Which of course caused no end of confusion because there were 2 First Class Carriages which were both labelled as Quiet Carriages. As there was a Micro Buffet in the set I took care to sit in H.

Then a few passengers complained because I took a call about a work matter which in truth only lasted about 5 minutes. However during that time I had no less than 5 passenger shout at me that this was the quiet coach. Unusually I made no attempt to apologise and politely informed them that Coach G was the quiet coach and that this was Coach H labelled incorrectly. Of course 2 middle aged ladies were having none of it and told me I was incredibly rude for "answering back"

Anyhow I had to take another phone call and I made a very childish point of letting it ring for a bit and then taking the call. One of the ladies had clearly had enough and went to get the Train Manager. She came back about 4 minutes later looking rather red faced and her and her companion hoofed it into (the correct) Coach G. Shortly after an announcement was made by the TM^‡(resolve) that Coach H was incorrectly labelled. There were slightly smug exchanges of smiles going around between people in Coach H who also knew the labels were wrong. That and the remainder of complainee's who moved to the correct Coach G!

[thetrout]

I recently saw a good misunderstanding on the down Golden Hind. Two smartly dressed "city types" were enjoying a meal in F, the restaurant when one wished to take a phone call.

Sorry missed this bit off my last post.

I think they were very well intentioned but were just rather unfortunate. You can't blame them for good etiquette and certainly making a good effort which backfired slightly though.