To expect people actually to keep quiet in the Quiet Coach?

[LadybirdtheCollieDog]

Longish journey on a full train yesterday. I had work to do, so booked my ticket in the Quiet Coach. People across from me obviously on a day out, laughing & chatting very UNquietly, but the train conductor said that he couldn't ask people not to talk.

Woman across from me took three phone calls. At the 3rd one, I asked her quietly & politely could she take it in the vestibule, as this was the Quiet Coach.

Oh boy, did I then get an earful of how rude I was being. Apparently I was a moaning, frowning bitch, and all the rest. Interesting how she twisted it -- I was the rude one for asking for quiet in the Quiet Coach; she had done nothing wrong apparently.

I'm not good at dealing with outright rudeness to my face from strangers, and I don't like conflict I'm not a good fishwife so I just went back to my work, while she muttered. I do have good powers of concentration!

So, I don't think I was being unreasonable, but what would have been a reasonable response to someone being so rude? Oh dear, maybe this is a WWYD? Teach me, oh MNers, what I should do next time!

Travelling from London in the quiet coach one evening with two colleagues we were told in no uncertain terms by a fellow passenger that there was to be no talking.

She did not accept that "quiet" does not mean " silent".

I don't mind talking or even laughing but I would mind someone using their phone or playing music through headphones loudly enough for others to hear.

"But why oh why do people take small children into Quiet Coaches?"

Because that's where we were put on the Leuchars to Totnes train. We had no choice when we booked seats. And they would have known we had a child in the party as we used a Family Railcard to book the tickets.

Luckily she isn't a shouty child but it would have been impossible to keep her silent for 10 hours.

The group of shrieking woman were far worse than one three year old.

In the past I have (unknowlingly) been given reserved seat in quiet coach and told off by conductor for a very brief (less than two mins) conversation on the phone. When a bunch of railway workers sat down in the same carriage and chatted loudly for the rest of the journey the conductor was nowhere to be seen.....

The problem with lots of train companies is that they don't let you reserve a seat that isn't in the quiet coach. So you are faced with the very real possibility of turning up and finding yourself in the quiet section without knowing or wanting to be there. IMO, it's not fair for people to be condemned to a journey of near silence. I understand the annoyance if you genuinely want to be there and your peace is then interrupted, but in a lot of instances, you shouldn't be blaming passengers, it's the train companies at fault.

Also, as I mentioned about a week ago when we had the last Quiet Coach thread, some train companies occasionally make the QC the only unreserved seating coach, so if you turn up without a reservation you don't have the choice of not sitting there, whether you have children with you or not.