To want to be able to book a "noisy" carriage on the train?

[BrittaPerry]

I travel by train quite a lot - I live 200 miles from my parents and so used to go across for a few days every month, now a bit less because DD1 is in school, but at least each holiday. Part of the journey is on a ridiculous "local" train, that we ride from the beginning to the end of the route, then we get on a major route train (usually Virgin) for the rest of the journey.

Now, when I book my ticket online, I can tick "quiet coach" but if I don't tick it I could end up in it anyway - there is no way of opting out. So quite often I end up with seats booked in the quiet coach.

I have a 2yo and a 5yo, who are both reasonably well behaved, but of course they do chatter, I get the odd (maybe once or twice a journey) phonecall from work or from my mum to see when we are arriving and so on. Nothing annoying in a normal situation but I am sick to death of having to keep the kids completely quiet and the slightest exclamation getting funny looks and so on. 2 hours is a long time to keep children silent.

Most people are brilliant, but the odd person isn't, and tbf they are in the quiet coach, so they aren't expecting to have to sit next to young children.

AIBU to want a box to tick to say that I DON'T want to be in the quiet coach? Surely that is best all round?

YANBU. I seems pretty obvious really.

I always go for Quiet and no one seems to abide by the rules at all

Oh god yes, YANBU. I booked 12 train tucked for a group of us for a Hen weekend. Our seats were in the quiet coach, even though I hadn't ticked the box.

It was an awful journey- we were excited and in high spirts, and the rest of the carriage wanted silence. No other seats on train. Definitely agree there needs to be a "noisy carriage"!!

I never really noticed people being quiet in quiet carriage. It says 'no mobiles or noisy stereos', but it doesn't actually say to be quiet.

National Rail however say 'Quiet Coach: If you choose a seat in this coach you are asked to not use your mobile phone, use electrical equipment in silent mode, ensure music cannot be heard by other passengers, and generally to keep noise levels to a minimum. '

Are there no other seats free? I frequently don't bother sitting in my reserved seats (and sit in other people's if they don't turn up , it's a frickin' free for all.)

I can't even imagine the hell if I found myself sitting in the 'noisy carriage'. Full of hens and stags and office do's and children getting high on the party atmosphere.

Write to them and suggest it. I wrote to national rail about something on their website and they actually responded and changed it! Sometimes people do read the feedback. Sounds totally sensible to me!

YANBU

I have ended up in the quiet carriage too - reserved seats online, rest of train full. Well, it was the journey from hell. Two of my DCs have SN and there was literally nothing I could do to stop them talking or crying.

I felt like the worst mother on earth. 2.5 hours of pleading and trying to explain why the train was stopping but we weren't getting off yet.

There was a box specifying 'standard' when I booked the other day.

Was that via trainline.com? Tarty

I thought that your ticket wasn´t valid if you didn´t sit in the seats reserved for you?

YANBU. I did not know you could be put in the quiet coach anyway if you booked online. Seems daft to me because if you wanted the quiet coach you would specifically book it.

diddl Seat reservation is separate from the ticket. You can still where you like, the seat reservation is just a bonus added on top to give people peace of mind that there will be a seat available for them.

OK-I travelled recently & booked in advance (at a station) & I thought that part of the "conditions" were that you travelled on the stated train (obvs) & in the seat allocated.

I didn´t ask to reserve btw, it just happened!

Would just like to say that I haven´t been on a train in UK for years.

Flew into Gatwick.

Not all that impressed by the Gatwick to St Pancras leg, but got on at Kings Cross for York & thought that I had wandered into first class

Maybe I´m easily pleased, but it was clean, comfortable & a socket for laptop& mobile use!

I'd ask the train manager for advice - I bet my travel card that if you looked worried enough he'd move you to a first class "noisy" carriage.

Failing that, knowing me if anounce to the whole quiet carriage that you were very sorry, but you're children will be sitting there because you can't sit anywhere else, despite having done everything in your power to change that.

I think people only get pissy when they think others are being wilfully oblivious/ selfish. No one in their right mind would expect you to gag your kids under these circumstances.

I think it varies by train company - my work had problems for a while with everyone getting plonked in a quiet coach despite us being expected to work on the journey and make phone calls! Then they fixed it.

Travelling with children on reserved tix I've found the guards very helpful at finding us seats in the rest of the train that are less crowded, even if we're supposed to be sitting in set seats, but that only works if you're getting on at the terminus.

I don't travel by rail very often, but I did take my DD's down to London from York last summer and we were allocated a quiet carriage without wanting one.

(Not sure what difference it made, still lots of people having loud conversations on mobiles)

It was just on the National Rail website.

I feel the same way - use Virgin a lot with 3 children under 6 on my own, only ever had one nasty comment though. I often get a 1st class upgrade at the weekend which I know is a whole other debate! Also, the 2 disabled carriages (so a little more space to do a circuit for the toddler, I fold the buggy) are 1st class or the quiet coach!

I've noticed that the existence of the quiet coach leads to the others being a free for all - people watch films with no headphones etc.

YANBU. Surely it would be logical to give the option? Ridiculous how often your situation happens when there is only 1 Quiet Zone in standard and 1 in first class!
You can contact Virgin via an online chat thingy on their website and they will change the booking for you to the carriage of your choice (obviously depending on what's available!) :)