Great Western Coffee Shop

These are some of the more broadcastable excuses for shouting/screaming/using mobiles/playing loud music in the Quiet Coach. Drawn from personal experiences of asking noisy passengers to move to the remaining 4 standard class or 1.5 first class coaches if they wish to make noise.

"No one told us it was a quiet coach when we booked seats"

"We need a table and there are no free tables in the other coaches"

"You could have waited until I'd finished my phone call before telling me this is a mobile free coach"

"Its not a (expletive deleted) library"

"They're children, what do you expect?"

"If you want peace and quiet why didn't you pay to go first class?" (Comment - interesting view that passengers in first class will always be quiet/not use mobile phones - actually untrue)

"Why - don't you like it then?" (Comment from a passenger when asked not to play his guitar)

"I'm sorry, but it was a very important call" (Actually a discussion over what to eat for tea that evening).


Other contributions (for a polite audience) welcome. 

First Great Western recently removed their leaflets in Quiet Coaches explaining the rules.  The Quiet Coach now only states it is a Quiet Coach and has one poster asking customers to keep noise to a minimum. 


 

I know you're posting in "the lighter side" here Stuart, but I'm going on to somewhat serious note.  As far as I can see it, the system is set up in such a way that any request to tone it down / desist / move to those who break the restrictions is going to be met with a "you're interferering / you're a jobsworth" reaction.  If anyone can see further than me and come up with a good way of keeping the quiet carriage quiet, without resentment on the par of people who may have initially overlooked the requirement, I would love to hear it.

The laws on smoking in enclosed public places actually included a neat solution to this problem of how you get people to conform to a new law that restricts them.   Yes, there are fines on the smoker.  But there are heavier fines available on the staff member who fails to deal with smoking if (s)he sees it, and even heavier penalties on the operator / owner / manager / director if (s)he fails to deal with issues brought directly or indirectly to his/her attention.   I have had to say to people "look - I'm very sorry, but it's illegal to smoke here ... and if I don't stop you, I could be in even more trouble with the law than you" ... and (touch wood) it has worked for me.  But then that is usually from overseas visitors who don't know the UK's rules, rather than awkward (more) local people who perhaps feel they are above a law they don't agree with.

Back to quiet coach rules ... and the lighter side.  why is it that the loudest noise of all - the sound of announcements telling you to keep your luggage with you at all times, and that there is a gap between the train and the platform edge,  continue at full blast, without even being turned down by a few decibels?

The ones that get me are the ones who seem to think the quiet carriage rules only apply once the train has left its origin

The number of times I'll get on a train early at bristol, hereford, worcester, paddington (at weekends) and people will be on their phones and when you try to point out that its the wuiet carriage, you get told that the train hasnt left yet!

this is my number 1 hate... worse than fair dodgers... worse than cross country.... worse than, hold on did i just say worse than xc?? humm ok moving on if your in the quiet coach SHUT THE HELL UP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IM SO PROUD I DIDNT SWEAR

Byelaws exist for this very reason.

7
(1) Except with written permission from an Operator no person on the railway shall, to the annoyance of any person:
(i)sing; or
(ii)use any instrument, article or equipment for the production or reproduction of sound. (Think mobiles and ipods would come under this).

Plus if you were playing music so others could hear would that not require some kind of public performance license or something?

Journeying through Cornwall last week, a woman talking on her phone knew full well she was in the quiet carriage as she said it twice in her conversation yet she still continued to talk away!

Call me an old man, but people walking into the quiet carriage generally annoys me!  ;D

Indeed there is this byelaw, along with the one that is supposed to prevent people in an intoxcated state from entering railway property (Byelaw 4) and even a person whose clothing may soil or damage any part of the railway or the property or clothing of any person on the railway (Byelaw 5) - dirty shoes on the seats? 

Unfortunately, as with most Railway Byelaws, the industry and British Transport Police generally only pro-actively enforce the laws in relation to smoking, trespass, fare evasion and abusive/violent behaviour to staff.  The rest largely go un-enforced. 

On Byelaw 7, I guess the test will be to inform the Train Manager that someone is using their Mobile/stereo etc to your annoyance and ask the TM to apply Byelaw 7.  If not, then (with the help of a witness) inform the British Transport Police.  However, I suspect BTP may not wish to pursue the case as, with most Police forces, they do not have the resources to enforce every law and have to choose which ones they feel there is most need to enforce.

I find it really annoying when you get people talking loudly in the quiet coach, I always travel in the quiet coach & everytime I find the quiet atmosphere ruined it's never young people but oap's that decide they have to shout when talking to the person next to them!

Thanks for posting, in such an appropriately quiet manner, Smartie36 - and welcome to the Coffee Shop forum!

Chris.  :)

Thanks for the nice welcome  ;D

I used to always book the quiet carriage when travelling from Reading to Newquay & back again, however experience has shown me that, the other carriages are often quieter due to people chatting and messing around (normally teenagers from public schools). 

My pet hate though, it that the guard never actually does anything about it?

Last time, both I and another passenger took turns in trying to encourage the young people to appreciate the fact it was a quiet carriage, but all we got was abuse and no back up.

Not the "performer" but the owner of the "premises" (ie the TOC) might need the licence.  The preforrmer might need permission from the copyright holder. 

Only slightly O/T, but does anyone know why the first class quiet coach is G ? would not the end coach, H be more logical ?
After all the standard class quiet coach is A , the end one.

Hang over from the days when Coach H was the smoking coach.  So that people in the quiet coach (G) would not have to go through the smoking coach to access the buffet car.

I'd like that  :) Can't see FGW actually changing the 1st quiet coach around but you never know.

It would seem to make far more sense if it was H, true near Paddington passengers would walk through the carriage. In practice though I think the quiet element of the carriage usually doesn't apply near there anyway as people settle down, unpack, repack etc.

I did wonder if the quiet zone customers were more likely to make use of the buffet and that was the reasoning behind placing them in G rather than H but it would seem strange if that was the logic since the standard class carriage is A so just as far as possible from the buffet.



Thinking about my personal use of coach G, I do sometimes sit there with the mobile phone on silent in the hopes I don't disturb anyone else, the quietest carriage I ever experienced though was Coach F. Thanks to a very good pullman stewardess, any other passenger entering the carriage was chased off while we diners enjoyed our meals.
Travelling from Plymouth to Reading it coincided with a Friday race meeting at Newbury, the additional call was announced and made. Naturally a large number of passengers fresh with their new found wealth joinged First Class and were rapidly chased into Carriage G to allow us to finish. I think some even ended up standing in the vestibule to my embarrasment as I had a table of four to myself.

Is it permitted, in the quiet coach, to sit upon a thief in order to restrain them until the plod arrive ?
Even if said thief squeals like a stuck pig, rendering the coach defiantly not quiet.
I did once.

Well done, broadgage!  ;D

I'd say that, if the thief chooses to squeal like a stuck pig, in a quiet coach, then that is just one more offence that they commit.  ::)

Thanks, it was a while ago.
I saw someone take a wallet out of a jacket pocket, at first I only observed because I felt it might be their own wallet being removed to make a purchase from the buffet, or show a ticket.
When however they moved as if to alight at Reading WITH the wallet, but WITHOUT the jacket, this clearly suggested theft and I challenged them.
The thief attempted run to down the length of G, but someone tripped them up by throwing luggage in the gangway, I sat upon them whilst others called for plod who arrived promptly.
It all made a considerable noise and comotion in the quiet coach, but in a good cause.