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

[whole diary]

[Lee]

I thought that was what FGW^▸ (First Great Western) already ran?

Freight services ferrying cattle between railway stations...

As I am sure many of you know, First do actually run freight trains (link below,)
http://www.gbrailfreight.com/

[swlines]

The irony is, First bought GB^▸ (Great Britain) Railways in order to get Anglia and got Hull Trains and GB Railfreight as a spin-off from doing so.

[jane s]

Spot on, DewarW!!!!  At least one person on here understands the meaning of the words "consideration for others".

As for the rest of you - read my post! NO-ONE is trying to ban anyone from talking - I am just pointing out the fact that the quiet carriage is not an appropriate place to do it!

I really cannot understand why anyone could possibly have a problem with that, since there are five or six other perfectly good carriages in which it is possible to sit and talk.

"Keeping noise to a minimum" surely means not having long ongoing conversations, although brief ones on essentials such as "Excuse me, is it OK if I sit here?" or "Would you like a coffee" would be acceptable. i.e. it is about duration and necessity, NOT just volume.

The quiet carriage is intended for people who wish to sit quietly in their own little bubble in order to read or work. If you do not fall into this category, either sit elsewhere or remain but comply with these conditions.

Not rocket science surely? That way everyone is happy. You do NOT have to understand it, just respect the fact that other people may have different needs to yourself and do not violate their privacy.

I get the impression from some of your posts that you believe that it should be against the rules for anyone to object to noise at all, just because YOU want to make it!!!! It has actually been scientifically proven that over-exposure to continual noise can be injurious to health - it was in the papers a few months ago - so sorry, but it looks like quiet carriages are here to stay.

[willc]

I'm not sure that anyone here has suggested they think it's okay to talk constantly or at the top of your voice in the quiet coach.

Yes, I do find those who carry on loud conversations annoying but this usually involves people who are not regular rail users, don't understand the idea of the quiet coach - and with the lack of notices/antimacassars in refurbished HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) this has got much harder to grasp, never mind the inconsistent or missing announcements - and on busy trains on Friday and Sunday evenings or in the school holidays.

There are also the likes of at least one repeat phone offender I know of, who travels from Kingham and always denies when challenged that you, or anyone else, has ever spoken to him about it before.

This is why I was suggesting guards get a clear, simple script for announcements, that covers the key points about the do's and don'ts in quiet coaches, including conversation volume.

Quiet coaches were actually provided as the result of complaints from passengers who wanted to be able to get away from people shouting down mobiles and tinkling and thudding personal stereos, not due to requests for hermit-like conditions. How you can get so worked up over the human voice but say you're not bothered by the constant noise stereos make, I don't understand.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the First Great Western Website, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=62 :

"We ask that people who sit in the Quiet Carriage respect other passengers and:
 
- Use their mobile phones in the vestibule and not in the carriage and keep them on silent throughout the journey.
- Do not listen to personal stereos or other electronic equipment such as portable DVD players.
- Keep all other electronic equipment such as laptops and portable games consoles on silent.
- Talk quietly when talking to other passengers.
   
This way those that wish to have a peaceful, relaxing journey may do so. First Great Western would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation."

[jane s]

I'm not sure that anyone here has suggested they think it's okay to talk constantly or at the top of your voice in the quiet coach.

If you refer back to my very original post, the three guys who initially annoyed me:

- WERE by their own admission regular users of the quiet coach

- were talking constantly & not particularly quietly

- were sitting AT THE SAME TABLE as I was (I was there first & clearly studying)

- were perfectly well aware that their behaviour was preventing me from working and did not give a ******! In fact they seemed to find it hilarious!

How you can get so worked up over the human voice but say you're not bothered by the constant noise stereos make, I don't understand.

I did say I didn't expect people to understand, just to accept the fact that this is the case for some of us! But if you're interested I can explain:

- a mobile phone ringtone, however loud or annoying, only lasts for a few seconds before it is either answered or turned off, and so it is easy for me to go back to what I was doing before it interrupted me.

- A personal stereo is just a background hum, with no words to distract me (unless it is REALLY loud & you can hear the actual songs, in which case it would irritate me as much as anyone else)

- Speech has distinct words, which intrude into my consciousness, so that I cannot help listening to the conversation whether I want to or not. Even talking quietly would have the same effect if I was sitting close enough to hear the actual words. (A background hum of "white noise" chatter is fine).

- If I am listening to the words of someone else's conversation, I CANNOT concentrate on anything else at the same time. Especially if it is something like studying.

- The only analogy I can come up with is to imagine that you are trying to concentrate on reading a report for work, and someone repeatedly waves their hand between your eyes & what you are reading at short but irregular intervals. That is the level of the distraction it causes me.

Sorry, I know that this is way too much information for some of you, but I was asked!

And yes, people shouting loudly into mobile phones is the absolute most annoying thing of all - at least we can agree on something!

[grahame]

Sorry, I know that this is way too much information for some of you, but I was asked!

And yes, people shouting loudly into mobile phones is the absolute most annoying thing of all - at least we can agree on something!

Am I allowed to go off-top and recall what I was very temped to do with some guy shouting at his wife on a mobile phone on the tube [above ground section] demanding that she pick him up from Osterly when he got there?  I was very tempted to take the phone off him and tell his wife that I wouldn't stand being talked to like that!

I don't think it's been asked yet in this thread ... the rule says "no use of mobile phones in the quiet carriage" as I recall. Not so much these days, but I used to use my mobile phone to go online, which makes no noise, when travelling by train. And of course the rule says I can't do this in the quiet carriage ... have I understood the rule correctly?

[Jim]

Sorry, I know that this is way too much information for some of you, but I was asked!

And yes, people shouting loudly into mobile phones is the absolute most annoying thing of all - at least we can agree on something!

Am I allowed to go off-top and recall what I was very temped to do with some guy shouting at his wife on a mobile phone on the tube [above ground section] demanding that she pick him up from Osterly when he got there?  I was very tempted to take the phone off him and tell his wife that I wouldn't stand being talked to like that!

I don't think it's been asked yet in this thread ... the rule says "no use of mobile phones in the quiet carriage" as I recall. Not so much these days, but I used to use my mobile phone to go online, which makes no noise, when travelling by train. And of course the rule says I can't do this in the quiet carriage ... have I understood the rule correctly?

I tell you what else annoys me, these prats that think everyone else wants to hear there music, and half the time it isn't even proper music, but they insist on forgetting there headphones!

[Btline]

"We ask that people who sit in the Quiet Carriage respect other passengers and:
 
- Use their mobile phones in the vestibule and not in the carriage and keep them on silent throughout the journey.
   

As I said earlier, this should be the case in all carriages. In quiet ones, phones should be off!

[Ptolemy]

I was very tempted to turn round and ask a woman in 1st Class earlier today if she'd like to try using her mobile phone, since leaning out of the window and shouting to her colleague back at the office obviously wasn't the most effective method of communication 

[DanielP]

There is a problem with the quiet coach concept- if you reserve a ticket, you have no control of which coach you are in.
I was travelling home from Brussels with my wife and two year old son and was horrified to discover that we had been allocated tickets in the quiet coach. My son is usually good as gold (he has commuted since five months old), but the excitement of the Eurostar and too much Belgian chocolate had obviously got to him. Moving was out of the question, as the train was packed to the gunnels. So, the other passengers had the joy of my son pointing out every aeroplane, high speed train and set of buffers at the top of his little voice (with frequent joyful screeches!). Anyone who has played "wressle the toddler" (even the best of them) will know that in certain circumstances anything you do to quieten them down will not work (and probably make them even noisier)- it's just a case of looking embarrased and letting them burn out. I was hoping that the other passengers in the coach may have a whip round to upgrade us to first class, but being in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) everyone just sneered at us!

From my experience of rail travel in Europe (especailly Italy) if your kid hits meltdown, a bunch of total strangers arrive to play with them and provide moral support and there is usually the option of booking THE EXACT SEAT AND COACH you will be in. In Norway, we were directed to a family coach with individual family compartments, a large climbing frame, wendy hourse and toys etc (H+S obsession hasn't got to Norway yet, but fun hasn't left!).

There is no common sense in the UK, partly because of the "pile 'em high" (but not sell 'em cheap) ethos. I don't know whether the "family coaches" have survived the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) refit process, but there is certainly no option to book it. In fact the current national internet booking system looks totally hopeless in comparison with other countries. I would love to do more long distance journeys by train in the UK, but at the moment, families just aren't catered for properly. I'm not holding my breath either!

I'm not for one minute appologising on behalf of noisy families, but maybe what I have said gives a another view for those of you who are hoping for a trappist coach 

Daniel

[Timmer]

Welcome to the forum Daniel.

A agree that the online reservation system needs improving to allow you choose your seat where possible which some airlines now provide. Another rather annoying thing that was introduced by Virgin trains a few years back and copied by other rail companies, not FGW^▸ (First Great Western) I hasten to add, was the removal of the option of choosing whether you face or face back to the direction of travel when booking a ticket as I don't like travelling backwards 

[smokey]

Welcome to the forum Daniel.

A agree that the online reservation system needs improving to allow you choose your seat where possible which some airlines now provide. Another rather annoying thing that was introduced by Virgin trains a few years back and copied by other rail companies, not FGW^▸ (First Great Western) I hasten to add, was the removal of the option of choosing whether you face or face back to the direction of travel when booking a ticket as I don't like travelling backwards 

With the concept of Airline Style seats the option of Forward/Backward seats was lost.

The refurbished FGW HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s are nearly all Air Line syle seats so very few seats ( per carriage can be prebooked as Forward/Backward.

However (my favourite line) IF SOMEONE HAD DONE THEIR HOMEWORK, there is a simple system to make Airline seats Forward/Backward reservable.

Bare with me, I'll try to explain.
Imagine you are at 1 end of a carriage standing where the sliding door is, looking through the carriage to the other end.
All the Seats on the Left Face Forward all the Seats on the Right Face Back.
On your left, the Seat by the window in the very Left hand corner is Seat 1F (Forward) next to it is Seat 2F, on your Right, the Seat by the window is seat 1B (Back) with seat 2B next to it.
Seat Numbers work up as you walk through the coach.

Nice simple and not ROCKET Science, and this has no more problems than anyother seating plan that has gone before.
There will always be "People" who sit in F seats rather than their booked B seats.

[Westernchallenger]

The new National Express East Coast website allows you to make a number of choices when booking a seat including quiet coach. NX also don't charge a booking fee unlike the Trainline.

[Shazz]

The new National Express East Coast website allows you to make a number of choices when booking a seat including quiet coach. NX also don't charge a booking fee unlike the Trainline.

thetrainline doesn't charge a booknig fee. It charges a transaction fee on credit cards. use a debit card and it's free