Items you think should be BANNED which are aren't currently

[Lewisham2221]

And on trains where there is no dedicated 'quiet' coach, then it should be automatically universally quiet. This is, of course, the case for the majority of services on the network.

Nonsense. If you want silence, wear earplugs or don't use public transport.

 

[Benjwri]

There’s a lot of talk about people using bikes to commute, but it’s forgotten trains are often used for one off transport of bikes. A lot of students I know, including myself, rely on trains to get out bikes to university and back once a year. Housing contracts mean we can’t store them over the summer, and we need them back at home. If your bike can’t fit in your car the train is your only choice.

Despite only having to do this twice a year I absolutely dread it, I have no idea how people do it every day. I don’t think I’ve ever not been confronted by a member of staff, having been kicked off numerous trains. Just a few weeks ago I was approached by an RPI who told me I couldn’t take a bike on a GWR Class 387 and kicked me off at the next stop.

 

[Neptune]

It shouldn't be. Train carriages should be a dominion of silence as that is the only way to ensure respect for others such as those trying to sleep.

So in your opinion I’m not allowed to speak to my wife when I’m on the train. Or take a phonecall from my kids’ school because they’ve had an accident and need picking up. In winter when I’m wearing my noisy waterproof am I not allowed to wear this in a train carriage?Are conductors not allowed to ask for tickets out loud?

I imagine if you were the lawmaker on public transport etiquette then there’d very quickly be no need for it as people will have deserted it in droves.

Seriously if you want to travel in silence then public transport is not for you. Even in North Korea I’m fairly sure you’re allowed to make a noise on public transport.

 

[ChrisC]

I don't agree. Having a conversation at normal volume, be that on the phone or in person, is a normal part of rail travel. Speakerphone use would come under the above law though.

That is exactly what I meant. Ordinary phone use on trains, with speech at a normal level, is quite acceptable. Loud hands free conversations by speakerphone is not acceptable.

 

[Bartsimho]

And on trains where there is no dedicated 'quiet' coach, then it should be automatically universally quiet. This is, of course, the case for the majority of services on the network.

Is this travelling during the day?

Also you you hate walking down a street with all the noise about?

 

[ThameslinkUser]

Seriously if you want to travel in silence then public transport is not for you.

I take it you've never travelled on a commuter service in the south east. I'm not referring to intercity services, but those where if the entire train is silent and you board and suddenly take it upon yourself to host a conference call, then you do deserve to be prohibited from travelling on the railways.

Is this travelling during the day?

Early morning commuter services/ early Sundays on commuter lines. It is sensible and it is etiquette.

 

[Neptune]

I take it you've never travelled on a commuter service in the south east. I'm not referring to intercity services, but those where if the entire train is silent and you board and suddenly take it upon yourself to host a conference call, then you do deserve to be prohibited from travelling on the railways.

I have indeed travelled on many SE commuter services. Very much like commuter services around other areas of the country in my experience, just longer trains. Very little chat adjust the odd conversation amongst people who know each other, occasional unobtrusive ‘I’ll be home in 15 minutes’ style phone calls, most people plugged into their music/ podcast, the odd sneeze in hayfever season. What’s so wrong with that? Why do you think you’re special and should travel in complete silence? Is this a dictatorship?

There is a way to travel without other people making those horrendously inconsiderate noises (people breathing too loud for instance?). Get noise cancelling headphones or use private transport.

 

[Halwynd]

Sadly, over the years, it seems to have become more and more acceptable to hold telephone conversations on public transport without any concern as to whether fellow passengers are disturbed.

A quick and quiet conversation doesn't bother me at all, but on my last lengthy rail journey I was sat a few seats away from some bore who held five or six lengthy conversations for the duration of the journey. Normally I carry an MP3 player with decent enclosed earbuds so that I don't have to listen to these people, but I didn't have them with me on this trip.

Whenever I've had to receive a phone call onboard I've always moved to the vestibule in consideration of those around me.

 

[stuu]

It shouldn't be. Train carriages should be a dominion of silence as that is the only way to ensure respect for others such as those trying to sleep.

So you would ban people from talking to each other? No thanks

 

[The exile]

We've had this discussion before when someone boarding a train with a wheelbarrow.

from https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/on-the-train/luggage/

No Canoes or hang gliders allowed

Would suggest that the “must be able to carry large luggage without assistance” be clarified to make it clear that that should mean “all at once through the train door”

 

[greyman42]

That is exactly what I meant. Ordinary phone use on trains, with speech at a normal level, is quite acceptable. Loud hands free conversations by speakerphone is not acceptable.

It seems to me that a fair number of people are incapable of speaking at normal levels when the phone is not on hands free. Is this because they are on a train and for some reason think they have to speak loudly or the other person will not be able to hear them?

 

[Nick Ashwell]

Echoing some of the sentiment, people playing music out loud need to be given one warning and then if they refuse to obey, ejected at the next stop. Headphones aren't expensive, and an adapter for USB-C is only about £5, they can do one.

Alcohol is a slightly different matter. As mentioned, it's more the idiots who get completely pissed or use it as an excuse to behave like an (insert preferred word here). I had dinner with family on Sunday, two bottles essentially between myself and my grandad, two pints at the Tap and then nothing till I got home. Some people would have been a hats without drinking on the train in that scenario, the issue is ASB and anyone commiting ASB, in any location, needs to be dealt with with the full weight of the law.

 

[The Lad]

Perhaps we should have banned all flavoured vapes

 

[Peter0124]

Buckfast tonic wine should be banned, however

 

[william.martin]

People who require the following on a full and standing WMR 4 car 196:

1 seat to sit on
The opposite seat to put there feet on
The seat next to them for there baggage
The seat opposite that for there lunch
The table for there phone and whatever other individual items that hasn't been placed on a surrounding seat.

Perhaps we should have banned all flavoured vapes

And all of the teenagers at schools who try them should be arrested, I was disgusted to hear that one of my school friends had been peer pressured into trying one last night.

 

[Nick Ashwell]

Perhaps we should have banned all flavoured vapes

I vape with a reusable type, I don't smoke it on the railway, ban me from carrying one and I'll sue the railway into oblivion for allowing cigarettes which the majority of 25 plus smokers have quit for vapes

Buckfast tonic wine should be banned, however

Don't dis the buckfast, tastes rather nice

 

[geoffk]

I think the E-bike/E-scooter problems are part of bigger issues around them. Legislation has not kept up with technology, hopefully we will emerge from the 'head in the sand' phase where the authorities keep stating that they are not legal and lots of people are using them on a daily basis. There are two issues really, unsafe battery packs and electronics, and machines which are capable of higher than prudent top speeds. The railways are hopefully more concerned about the first issue, having seen the results of fairly small lithium battery going into self destruct mode I think the concerns are justified.

To me the best way forwards, to have E-scooter legislation which allows them to fill a genuine need, probably similar to the E-bikes in term of top speeds etc, and ensuring that things like batteries meet minimum standards, and then clamping down on the illegal ones. From a railway point of view E-scooters are probably better for to and from station journeys because they dont take up as much space as even non-e bikes.

I heard an announcement on a GWR train recently that e-scooters, but not e-bikes, are banned. I assumed this was because of fire risk from batteries. But BBC News has just been discussing fires caused by e-bike batteries, one of which burnt down a house in Lancashire.

 

[Benjwri]

I heard an announcement on a GWR train recently that e-scooters, but not e-bikes, are banned. I assumed this was because of fire risk from batteries. But BBC News has just been discussing fires caused by e-bike batteries, one of which burnt down a house in Lancashire.

Probably partially because of the fire risk, but they also are not legal on public roads, and I don’t see anyone wheeling their e-scooter to their local station, so they shouldn’t really legally be on the train anyways.

There’s also a bit of an issue with the e-scooter schemes of people taking them on trains away from their area, thinking they can continue to use it somewhere else.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Believe at least one media source was claiming today that the batteries for e-scooters/e-bikes have the (explosive?) energy of six hand grenades.

Batteries for e-bikes and scooters contain energy of six hand grenades

There are calls for the government to regulate the sales of batteries for...

planetradio.co.uk

Extract...

Batteries for e-bikes and scooters contain energy of six hand grenades.

A charity wants stricter controls on the sales of batteries after a series of fires.

Not sure how true the above actually is, but definitely of concern if it is so.

 

[D6130]

Buckfast tonic wine should be banned, however

Whatever happened to El Dorado....the beverage of choice for alcoholics when I stayed in Glasgow back in the late' 70s/early '80s?

 

[Nick Ashwell]

Believe at least one media source was claiming today that the batteries for e-scooters/e-bikes have the (explosive?) energy of six hand grenades.

Batteries for e-bikes and scooters contain energy of six hand grenades

There are calls for the government to regulate the sales of batteries for...

planetradio.co.uk

Extract...


Not sure how true the above actually is, but definitely of concern if it is so.

Definitely an article of hyperbolly, six hand grenades are going to do a lot more damage, although they are less incendiary.

Reading the article further it says the amount of TNT, an outdated, low yield explosive

edit: I should specify my above statement, it's like that on its own, it's still viable as part of a modern blend

 

[mike57]

But BBC News has just been discussing fires caused by e-bike batteries, one of which burnt down a house in Lancashire.

A large (as in E-bike/scooter size) lithium battery fire is very serious. There are a number of videos circulating which show what happens when they do self destruct, and the consequences are significant and life threatening. Both the scale and speed of onset are to be quite honest scary. To be fair most of these incidents happen during charging, and they shouldn't be charged on trains, but even so I think there is justified concern about this issue.

At the very least I would want to see E-bike/scooters stored in dedicated bike areas away from the immediate vicinity of passengers. Imagine one of these fires starting in a folding E-scooter stored in an overhead rack on a crowded train, there is no doubt people would get hurt.

 

[Silenos]

At the very least I would want to see E-bike/scooters stored in dedicated bike areas away from the immediate vicinity of passengers.

To be honest, given the number of times I’ve had to clamber over someone’s bike blocking both doors in a 376, or barked my shins on a pedal trying to get out, I’d like to see a dedicated bike area in all trains, but that’s hardly feasible in much of our rolling stock.

 

[class 9]

Deleted.