Quiet Zones?

[Skimble19]

The East Coast site will tell you if you're in the quiet coach, and allow you to move your seats anywhere on the train (in the same class) for all East Coast services..

 

[tinselworm]

I did complain to the ticket collecter because a woman bought a baby into the quiet carriage that was bawling his eyes out for about 20 minutes before he asked her to move out, she claimed that he didn't like the noise and the quiet carriage would make him not cry, but apparently 20 minutes of angry silence wasn't enough?

 

[Failed Unit]

Depends whether it is in silent mode

To be honest that doesn't matter, for some the tap, tap, tap of the keys would be enough. But to me the quite coach isn't about church quiteness and TOC's don't try and pretend it is. People having a game of cards is acceptable, I would not expect them to make less noise than if they were in another coach. Even if they were in coach E I would ask them to calm it down a bit if the noise was excessive.

For interest where are the quite coaches on various operators (if seats can be reserved)

East coast B / J or K
Virgin A,
FGW A?
NXEA ?
EMT ?
XC - ?

I have known on many occasions people get reserved into the quite coach on XC when they don't to be, as that is all that is left. The advantage is that you can't get mobile signals that well on XC's voyagers anyway.
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The East Coast site will tell you if you're in the quiet coach, and allow you to move your seats anywhere on the train (in the same class) for all East Coast services..

To give east coast credit they do now, it is a recent development, but if you book through another operator you may not know that B = quite coach if you are not a regular user. Likewise if you want a table that may be all that is offered. But I agree you are less likely to be totally forced to sit in the quite coach on east coast unless your are travelling on the 0540 ex Edinburgh booking the week before on the launch day of the new service that is

 

[Hydro]

The advantage is that you can't get mobile signals that well on XC's voyagers anyway.

It's not just that, it's all 220/1/2 derivatives. I frequently mentally start punching myself in the head with frustration when trying to send a text or browse the internet via my phone on these trains. Going up the MML on a Meridian yields naff all, yet the same route in a Mark 1 or 2 and I can use my phone reasonably well.

 

[craigwilson]

Also it might help if quiet coaches were configured so they just had airline seating (no tables) as it tends to be people travelling alone or in small groups who prefer to use quiet coaches

Some of us taller people would like both the peace of the quiet coach and the extra legroom of a table seat!!

 

[NSE]

I don't see how anyone can complain about a crying child. If the parents try and control it what more can they do? A crying child is, like the OP states, a fact of life. (I never chose the quiet coach because I listen to music and tbh, its just more rules to adhere too. I often ring my mum to tell her how my journey is going, however if I ended up in one by chance I would of course obey the rules) But if someone has booked a ticket and ended up in the quiet coach with their baby, well big deal.
If one single journey with a crying child is the biggest problem in your day then really, thats a bit sad.
Without wishing to come across as being rude, I've seen passengers complain on trains about crying children, oblivious to the fact that did it when they were younger and it makes me annoyed. I took my cousin to Brighton for the day out, and yes we were noisy on the train. Playing I-spy and colouring in books, looking out the window for the seaside and such like. Did I care that the person across from us cocked the strop. No chance, cause I was having fun

 

[Skimble19]

To give east coast credit they do now, it is a recent development, but if you book through another operator you may not know that B = quite coach if you are not a regular user. Likewise if you want a table that may be all that is offered. But I agree you are less likely to be totally forced to sit in the quite coach on east coast unless your are travelling on the 0540 ex Edinburgh booking the week before on the launch day of the new service that is

As long as you book through the EC site (which any sensible person would these days!) you'll be fine and will be able to sit in pretty much any seat you like

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It's not just that, it's all 220/1/2 derivatives. I frequently mentally start punching myself in the head with frustration when trying to send a text or browse the internet via my phone on these trains. Going up the MML on a Meridian yields naff all, yet the same route in a Mark 1 or 2 and I can use my phone reasonably well.

Psssttt.... the windows in the doors aren't coated like the ones in the cabins are and everything works just fine in the vestibules ( at least on the 222s, not tested this on the 220s / 221s yet )......

 

[RichmondCommu]

They shouldn't have sat in the Quiet Coach to start with - that's my take on it. It's not as if I have no experience with this - I still qualify for child tickets myself (just)!

I can't quite believe that I’m reading this. Given that you are not a parent I don't think you have any right to comment on let alone criticise the behavior of an infant. Their parents may well have chosen to sit in a designated quiet coach in order to reduce noise levels which awake the infant. The distress caused to a parent and in particular a mum when a baby is upset is unimaginable. Babies tend to get into a routine fairly quickly but being in a strange environment can easily upset them. Please think before you post so that you don't offend others. You might be a parent one day.

 

[Squaddie]

Given that you are not a parent I don't think you have any right to comment on let alone criticise the behavior of an infant.

You really believe this?

Why do parents feel that they have the right to inflict their noisy children (not just babies) on the rest of us? The number of times my journey has been disturbed by a family or crying baby in the so-called quiet carriage - even in first class - is depressing. Some people simply have no consideration for others.

 

[GB]

. Some people simply have no consideration for others.

Pot, kettle and the colour black springs to mind here.

 

[StrollerEd]

Smokers and non-smokers cannot be equally free in the same railway carriage.
( George Bernard Shaw)

That may also be true when parents (but more acutely a parent) and small children travel by public transport - especially long distance travel. And when it goes wrong the parent(s) need support not criticism.
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I've just been booking a reservation and the Quiet Coach is the default - maybe it should be a positive choice.

 

[Madge Wildfire]

FGW HSTs have the quiet coach in coach A, and like the OP I was quite surprised to discover that coach B is often quieter than the quiet coach.

This is not due to the antics of passengers, but just that in coach B there is little or no noise from the power car.

The same is apparent with 1st class. The quiet coach seems to be coach H, but that is adjacent to the other power car, and coach G is quieter.

I understand the reasoning behind this; that there are not large numbers of through passengers walking to from the buffet, but it does seem to be a bit of a paradox.

 

[jon0844]

I expect to hear some noise on a bus, train, plane etc - but I can cope with a constant noise as I'll get used to it (otherwise flying would most certainly be out!).

Surely you just don't to hear people nattering on the phone or playing music out loud (not that they should do that in any coach). This might be why FC passengers on EC aren't so happy about the constant noise from the staff running the new at-seat service?

 

[Greenback]

I always book the quiet coach on FGW. To be frank, I do expect the volume of noise from othe rpassnegers to be less than in other carriages, otherwise how can it be deemed a quiet coach at all?

There will always be some noise. For instance, the sound of people quietly talking and the tapping of keys does not really bother me. But I do not expect to hear other people's music, and that includes their ringtones!

 

[All Line Rover]

I can't quite believe that I’m reading this. Given that you are not a parent I don't think you have any right to comment on let alone criticise the behavior of an infant.

I'm not an adult but I can criticize adults, adults are not children but they can criticize children, and I'm not an infant but I can criticize infants (or their parents more specifically).

Their parents may well have chosen to sit in a designated quiet coach in order to reduce noise levels which awake the infant.

If the parents have decided to sit in the Quiet Coach, that's their choice and they should respect the rules. If their baby wakes up and starts crying, they should move - it's not my problem!

Please think before you post so that you don't offend others.

Someone who would be offended by my comment must be offended by many things!

You might be a parent one day.

I have ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION of being a parent!
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One thing which puzzles me - why do some TOCs have sockets next to the seats in quiet coaches ? As these sockets are only intended for charging phones and laptops you don't need them in the quiet coach !!!!

There are many quiet activities that you can do aside from sleeping or reading a book.

I always use my mobile phone in the quiet coach - either to browse the internet or to listen to podcasts through my headphones (NOT music). I always make sure that no sound is leaking through the headphones before I start listening. If I'm sitting in a noisy coach, I can't hear what I'm listening to, which means that I must crank up the volume - and I don't like playing very loud sounds through my headphones!
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If one single journey with a crying child is the biggest problem in your day then really, thats a bit sad.

I don't have many problems generally. So if, at the end of a tiring day, I'm coming back from Glasgow or London on a late evening service, I want to have some peace and quiet. So I go and sit in the Quiet Coach. If there was a child in that coach crying on and on for the duration of my journey, that would be the biggest problem of my day!

I have absolutely no objection to parents bringing their young children on a train, even if they are crying. But if they decide to sit in the Quiet Coach, they should be QUIET (including their children)! If their children can't be quiet, they should move. There are FOUR other carriages on a Pendolino - FOUR! I don't see what the big deal is.

 

[SS4]

If the parents have decided to sit in the Quiet Coach, that's their choice and they should respect the rules. If their baby wakes up and starts crying, they should move - it's not my problem!

I have to agree. It's not like the rules of the quiet zone are made up arbitrarily and on the spot. A crying baby is excessive noise just like a mobile phone call, personal stereos, shouting, playing audio through speakers and even snoring.
It's the balance of probabilities: how likely is the child to cry given the journey time? In addition if they go into the vestibule then nobody is going to take their seat. I can understand parents wanting peace in the quiet zone and as long as they are reasonably quiet all is good.

Evolution has made our brains create stress hormones (cortisol?) when there is a crying baby as well as making us [as a species] happy when we see a child. It's the same principle as why a parent would sacrifice themselves for their child.
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IIRC the quiet zone was introduced for passengers who wanted to enjoy their journey with less stress than a normal carriage.

For the noise who knows what's happened previously in the day? For all you know someone could be sitting in the quiet zone after a long day and feels depressed. A crying baby could be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

I like to relax on my journey, look out the window at the scenery and basically wind down, especially if it's an early morning or after a long day.
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IIRC the quiet zone was introduced for passengers who wanted to enjoy their journey with less stress than a normal carriage.

For the noise who knows what's happened previously in the day? For all you know someone could be sitting in the quiet zone after a long day and feels depressed. A crying baby could be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

I like to relax on my journey, look out the window at the scenery and basically wind down, especially if it's an early morning or after a long day.

 

[317666]

I will say now that when I'm on a long journey, it drives me up the wall if somebody sits in the quiet coach and makes excessive noise. Doesn't matter if it's a screaming child or someone on their phone, or whether it's preventable or not - if you can't or won't be quiet, don't sit in the quiet coach. Simples.

 

[Failed Unit]

Some people have never travelled on east coast at busy times where the choice is sit in the quite coach or stand! Oh please let me know the quote that bans children making noise, who polices what is excessive, one persons eye spy may be unacceptable to another. The announcements relate to telephone calls not conversation!

 

[WestCoast]

Some people have never travelled on east coast at busy times where the choice is sit in the quite coach or stand!

Often the case on Virgin in the peaks too.

 

[Greenback]

Surely it's more a case of sit in the quiet coach and be quiet or stand?

 

[Failed Unit]

Surely it's more a case of sit in the quiet coach and be quiet or stand?

I would treat the child the same as any coach. If the kick off the vestibule until they calm down. If they are talking, not shouting while drawing etc that is fine. I once had a woman have a go at me for using my mobile in a normal coach. I pointed her in the direction of the quiet coach, she wasnt impressed.

 

[NSE]

I don't have many problems generally. So if, at the end of a tiring day, I'm coming back from Glasgow or London on a late evening service, I want to have some peace and quiet. So I go and sit in the Quiet Coach. If there was a child in that coach crying on and on for the duration of my journey, that would be the biggest problem of my day!

I have absolutely no objection to parents bringing their young children on a train, even if they are crying. But if they decide to sit in the Quiet Coach, they should be QUIET (including their children)! If their children can't be quiet, they should move. There are FOUR other carriages on a Pendolino - FOUR! I don't see what the big deal is.

Christ, not much annoys me, but this is just unbelievable. Seeing as you are obviously so right the day you can silence a crying child without any effort for an entire journey, I'll eat my hat. Cause it's not going to happen. So if a young mum with her two young kids pre-books her seats and gets put into the Quiet Coach, cause every other coach is full up, she should stand? Or should she wait for the next one? No she should damn well get the train and anyone who complains about crying noise should remember that they did it too. Why don't you move coach and plug yourself into an iPod?
I honestly cannot believe your argument. If a family travel and allow their children to misbehave, then yes, that is out of order. But thats for any coach not just the quiet one.
I just, genuinely lost for words.

 

[All Line Rover]

I would treat the child the same as any coach. If the kick off the vestibule until they calm down. If they are talking, not shouting while drawing etc that is fine. I once had a woman have a go at me for using my mobile in a normal coach. I pointed her in the direction of the quiet coach, she wasnt impressed.

What a self important, haughty, big headed so and so! Everyone is entitled to use their mobile phone (except in the Quiet Coach).

The only time I told someone to shut up was on a South West Train from Waterloo. He was talking at the top of his voice to his "ex girlfriend" and swearing constantly. Everyone could hear him! Some people...

 

[SS4]

Christ, not much annoys me, but this is just unbelievable. Seeing as you are obviously so right the day you can silence a crying child without any effort for an entire journey, I'll eat my hat. Cause it's not going to happen.

This is about crying in the quiet zone, not on board a train.

So if a young mum with her two young kids pre-books her seats and gets put into the Quiet Coach, cause every other coach is full up, she should stand? Or should she wait for the next one?

If she can't abide by the guidelines of quiet zone then yes, she should stand. I'm not denying it's callous but that's the risk of travelling at peak time. The children aren't entitled to a seat unless they hold a ticket. Parent travelling at peak times are relatively rare too. Off-Peak there is usually room elsewhere

I love the irony that you cite a young mum in your example on Father's Day. I for one travelled a lot more with my father than my mother.

No she should damn well get the train and anyone who complains about crying noise should remember that they did it too.

I cried, just not in the Quiet Zone on board a train.

Why don't you move coach and plug yourself into an iPod?

Why should he be punished because another passenger('s dependent) cannot abide by the guidelines?

I honestly cannot believe your argument. If a family travel and allow their children to misbehave, then yes, that is out of order. But thats for any coach not just the quiet one.
I just, genuinely lost for words.

It would appear that guidelines are for childless people only :roll:

 

[GB]

Where is this RULE that precludes crying children from the quiet coach?

and +1 for NSE

 

[Greenback]

I don't think it really matters whether someone has been booked into a quiet coach in error, or just boarded the train without realising they are gettin in the quiet coach. They should still have respect for the quiet environment and consideration for other passengers that have chosen that coach deliberately.

If that means going into the vestibule to make or take a call, or taking a crying or upset child there, then that is what should be done.

Sadly, there is a lot consideration and respect these days. A lot of people now sem to think that 'rules' don't apply to them if they don't like the rules or find them inconvenient.
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Where is this RULE that precludes crying children from the quiet coach?

and +1 for NSE

There is no rule. It is an environment where people are asked to keep noise down. If someone can't quieten a child after a while it is only fair to take the child out of that environment. After all, it may be the environment that is upsetting the child. A walk down the train may help.

Some parents, though, have absolutely no consideration for others, or any common sense come to that. They are quite happy to let their child (and I'm not talking babies here) scream, cry and shout as long as they want to.

 

[SS4]

It is an environment where people are asked to keep noise down. If someone can't quieten a child after a while it is only fair to take the child out of that environment. After all, it may be the environment that is upsetting the child. A walk down the train may help.

This is what I was getting at. I don't expect a parent to dash out of the carriage like the Flash when their child starts crying but if they can't stop the crying within a minute or so it would be fair to take the child out of the quiet zone.

 

[Greenback]

..and obviously, if they are not in a designated quiet carriage, they can stay where they are!

 

[reb0118]

Does the old rule still stand - "children should be seen but not heard?"or even better"children should neither be seen nor heard"