RMweb Gold Revolution Mike Posted September 2, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 2, 2011 must admit whenever i travel as a passenger i put my headphones in, got myself a cracking set of sennheiser noise cancelling earbud type so i cant hear anyone else and they cant hear me Ditto, though part of the problem is that the nasty cheap headphones supplied with the likes of Ipods/Iphones etc are mostly rubbish at keeping sound in...they might as well just supply a tinny set of small speakers Two other problems with quiet coaches - on packed commuter trains there may not be any choice where to sit (or more likely stand). But the worst is when booking tickets online you have the choice of choosing a quiet zone seat, but not a choice to say NOT a quiet zone seat! The number of times I have ended up in the quiet zone when I didn't want to be was unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 i got particularly annoyed by the young girl who got on at wolverhampton and started clipping her hooves.....sorry, toenails with a clipper, click, click, click, click all the way not to mention the toenails flying everywhere!! It's not very edifying when they start picking their nose either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltic56 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 May be a loud coach is the answer everybody would soon plead for a quiet carriage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 Announcing the "Campaign for Real Quiet Zones" - CRQZ. IMHO someone should start a No.10 petition. "We the undersigned believe that the use of mobile phones, iPods, and anything else we don't like when it gets invented, hereby wish the law of the land to give us permission, ney the duty!, to mutter under our collective breath when such devices are used within the confines of so-called Quiet Zones. We shall be empowered to raise our blood pressure to levels previously unheard of. We shall have the duty to make withering comments in stage whispers (or just in our own minds) and then post them online later. God save the Queen!" We may need some help on the legal terminology, but I reckon it's a fair start. Come to think of it, does the Royal Train have a quiet zone? What's the penalty for transgressions? I bet it's "Hang up or I'll quarter you!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted September 2, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 2, 2011 Unfortunately I know of one or two old style trade unionites (the sort who back in the 1970's would bring everyone out on strike for the wrong colour bog roll in the staff toilets) who as far as 'Quiet Zone's' and also peak hour bicycle policies are concerned, they cannot be enforced in any way by railway staff as they are not in the Railway Bylaws. There are of course plenty of other things in the Railway Bylaws passengers and other associated patrons (paying and non paying) could be tripped up by, they are a veritable menu of offences!! Pity no one can remember any of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Simon Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I was under the impression that mobile phone signals were somehow blocked in the quiet carriages. Obviously not. Geoff. Hi Geoff, Unfortunatly, I believe that it is illegal to block (or anything like it) Mobile signals, I do remember a TOC who planned to do this in their quiet carriages, but was told it was illegal to do it Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffles Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 ...they cannot be enforced in any way by railway staff as they are not in the Railway Bylaws. There is something in there John that could cover this. Let me dig a copy out... EDIT: Here it is - it's a bit looser than I remember but it could cover it: (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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) I always head for the quiet coach with the vain hope I can sit down, headphones in and enjoy some music, radio or an audiobook. My journey is normally ruined by 3 groups of people: 1. Master/Miss Phoneeveryone, as previously discussed the loudmouths who natter constantly on their phones. Whats more bizarre is they seem to have a list of topics that can last for hours. Even when I talke to my closest friends we struggle for any more than 5 minutes on any given subject. They should allow signal blockers at least on the quiet carriage. 2. Mr/Mrs Businessperson, they unpack laptops, paperwork, phones and whatever junk they need and use up the entire table, can't these people wait 30 mins or is what they are doing so important it has to be done in a busy carriage? To add insult to injury I've watched these people, they openly display PRIVATE company documents onscreen and email 'Steve' in accounts about total nonsense. 3. Lord and Lady Wereservedthese. One particularly memorable evening me and a good friend of mine boarded a HST to depart KX at around midnight after attending a gig. We took opposing seats at a random booth in a almost completely empty carriage. An older couple boarded and approached our booth and demanded the seats they reserved dispite being in an empty carriage. In all fairness they had reserved the particular ones and if it were a busy carriage I would have immediately accepted that and vacated the seat. Its the fact that these people had be awkward for no reason. They were very lucky we were too knackered to even bother argueing. sorry, rant over. Edited September 5, 2011 by Coldgunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 How many people would use a "LOUD" carriage, I wonder? Best, Pete. Very few Pete. I know this because I once travelled from Calais to Innsbruck on the weekly overnight "Tyrolean Express" which offered a special attraction in the shape of a "dance car". This was a very loud carriage as it not only had speakers inside that played loud music over its dance floor for most of the night but also external speakers to share the fun with people sleeping in lineside communities, platform staff, cows and sheep etc. At no time though did I see anyone actually using this carriage. I have a feeling that a lot of the music was of the Tyrolean Schmaltz variety so people along its route must have really looked forward to Saturday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 6, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 6, 2011 oh and another annoyance, and this happened to me this morning at wolverhampton, people who wont wait for passengers to get off before trying to get on.. some bloke tried to get on where i was getting off as i stepped off a LM desiro this morning, didnt even attempt to side step me or push past, just stepped up towards me from the platform after giving me eye contact too, needless to say he ended up back on the platform, im not the smallest of people!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Maybe someone should point BoJo in the direction of this thread. TfL are considering introducing quiet carriages on the tube and Overground services according to the Sub-Standard, err Evening Standard. I do love watching mobile afflicted people on the Bexleyheath line all collectively start cursing between Blackheath and Kidbrooke when their signal dies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 My biggest annoyance on trains is not phones, but people who play music through the speakers on their phones. The music is invariable really bad dance music, as Chavs only listen to cheap dance remix albums they've bought/stolen from Tescos. Trouble is even if you like what they are playing (doesn't happen often but it has occasionally!) I guarantee it will still sound awful played at full volume through a mobile phone speaker... I like the suggestion of more announcements in the quiet coach to remind them to be quiet, maybe if they are custom announcements you could get them done as a stage whisper....."Shhhh! It's the quiet coach".... Red Death has a good point though, i've also been booked on long distance journeys on Voyagers and turned up to find i'm stuck in the quiet coach whether I liked it or not, and whilst I try and keep my music to myself (i'd agree with Jim a nice set of headphones works wonders!) and don't use my phone much at all I do use it to (for example) let my wife know we're on time if she's picking me up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidH Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 An older couple boarded and approached our booth and demanded the seats they reserved dispite being in an empty carriage. In all fairness they had reserved the particular ones and if it were a busy carriage I would have immediately accepted that and vacated the seat. Its the fact that these people had be awkward for no reason. They were very lucky we were too knackered to even bother argueing. I wonder if we should be fair to these people though - I'm as puzzled as you seem about people who insist on their booked seat even though there are others around that are available, but ... not everyone is a regular user of trains and may not be aware that you don't usually get moved by the ticket inspector - assuming there is one, and assuming you're not just moving to another reserved seat. They may be more used to airlines. And some people (young or old) get quite anxious if they don't get the seat (or service or whatever) they booked. (Some people delight in being cussed, too.) And people can be quite territorial - you're in their space ... I argued once, when I was palpably in the wrong, and was moved by the train manager. I eventually gave in to my nagging conscience and went back to the person whose seat I'd been in and apologised profusely ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) They were the sort of people I saw boarding and I somehow knew they were going to come over our way. I didn't give you the full story though. When they came up to us and said they reserved the seats, me and my friend looked at each other, somewhat gobsmacked. We initially decided to say nothing and and stay put. They decided to sit next to us (4 seat booth) in the aisle seats to intentionally make us feel awkward. We then vacated and moved to the other end of the carriage. My friend muttered something along the lines of "for **** sake, if you must!". You'll get the picture if I describe them as middle class, probably tory ( ) who think they're better than a couple of heavy metal fans on their way home. Like I said, they knew full well what they were doing was just to irritate us. There is a nice side to train travelling, even if you're not a railfan. I took a day out with my mum to york to see FS on display this summer, we reserved the two window seats in a booth, chap had reserved seats next to us with his family, had a nice chat for a couple of hours. Made the trip fly by. Edited September 6, 2011 by Coldgunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 some bloke tried to get on where i was getting off as i stepped off a LM desiro this morning, didnt even attempt to side step me or push past, just stepped up towards me from the platform after giving me eye contact too, needless to say he ended up back on the platform, im not the smallest of people!! heh, I learn't a few years back that when travelling anywhere in the capital to use my size (6'3, 20st) and push, shove and don't give way to anyone. Spent years before that, letting people on first and being reasonably chivalrous. At the end of the day it rarely goes appreciated. Outside of the capital I'll let a lady on first and happily help with luggage if so required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidH Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) (to Coldgunner) I get the picture! Sometimes, it's best not to respond to provocation ... Edited September 6, 2011 by DavidH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Indeed, if we did respond, we'd be in the wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10800 Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 We initially decided to say nothing and and stay put. Ignoring them after they had spoken to you may be where you went wrong here to be honest. Would it have been so difficult just to say 'oh sorry, we can move but there are plenty of unreserved seats anyway'? The contrast between 'middle class Tory' and 'heavy metal fan' shouldn't really be relevant - it's a case of communication. OK so I wasn't there but it seems an unnecessary situation. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 some bloke tried to get on where i was getting off as i stepped off a LM desiro this morning, didnt even attempt to side step me or push past, just stepped up towards me from the platform after giving me eye contact too, needless to say he ended up back on the platform, im not the smallest of people!! I've had that on a 153 - crowded platform, and as the train rolls to a stop a lady shoves her way sideways through the crowd to be directly in front of the door - which is barely wide enough for one person to get off through let alone her to get on at the same time. We had a momentary mexican-standoff before I pointed out that if she let the crowd of people off she'd be able to get on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldgunner Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 @10800 You're most probably right. In hindsight we probably should have done like you say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 In the Quiet Carriage this morning the person next to me had a heart murmur. I complained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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