to think it's inconsiderate to travel in the quiet coach with small children

[someonestolemynick]

That, really.

I make a point of sitting in the quiet coach, where available in order to be able to work, read or just be alone with my own thoughts.

Today I'm joined by a young family with a baby. Of course, the baby starts crying whenever we go through a tunnel. Arrrgh! I know children make noice, hence KEEP.THEM.OUT.OF.THE.QUIET.ZONE.

AIBU?

Ok, PMing.

Hope you manage to get a result!

I do however remind dd to speak quietly and dont let them run about.

That's all I ask, moldingsunbeams

If you book online via a desktop site you are given the option to select the quiet coach. If you book via a phone app (and I can't remember when I used anything other than a phone app) you don't get a choice.

It has nothing to do with whether or not you have children.

Personally I never used to choose the quiet coach as I didn't want the filthy looks if my phone rang.

As long as a parent keeps control of their children and does not change a nappy in the carriage I have no problem. Please note however I am not interested in your children. Any of them who try to engage me in conversation or tug my sleeve etc, etc will be ignored.

YANBU

I can't believe there are so many people who think you are being unreasonable. I find it very strange.

"If you book online via a desktop site you are given the option to select the quiet coach."

Not all train companies allow you to do this.

I wonder what the point is of quiet carriages where the only rule is that you're not allowed to use your mobile? Nothing offensive about mobiles as such, just people talking loudly for a long time surely... what difference does it make if the talking is into a mobile or to the person opposite?

Ubik1 just read your post about the hell of travelling from London to Scotland. That's a journey I do far more regularly than you mentioned and I think you're over-egging the pudding considerably.

schokolade

I think I saw a newspaper article somewhere that said that research had been dome and it is far more annoying / I trusive to listen to half a conversation than the full thing.

I'm back to admit defeat! I was asked for tethersend name... and it turns out, she has something different printed on her card, so the train company wouldn't speak with me at all

shockolade because people don't talk in a conversational way on a mobile phone. You do speak louder. Everyone does.

This is why I never, ever use buses or trains.

You didn't fail, Reginald, THEY FAILED.

Personally I never used to choose the quiet coach as I didn't want the filthy looks if my phone rang.

Caitlin, the thing is that in the Quiet Coach you're supposed to turn your phone off or to silent. Then it won't ring. Then you won't get filthy looks.

But it isnt unreasonable for someone to politely remind you that it is supposed to be a quiet environment, if you let your PFB scream the place down or play loud music

^ This

I'm in awe at the attempts of tethersend to try to sit where she and her family will feel comfortable (seriously, I'm not being sarcastic). And GRRR at the train operating company who are making it so difficult for her to try to do the right thing, as she sees it.

And quiet children in the Quiet Carriage isn't really the problem we're talking about here, is it? It's about general disrespectfulness and rudeness. Now that can include children, but not only children, and not always children.

The noisy children who are noisy because their parents allow them to be, by ignoring them, or encouraging them to be noisy, are the problem (or, rather their parents are). Plenty of posters have said they can & do keep their children quiet & busy. And I'd bet those children really enjoy the trip.

I've not read the whole thread but just wanted to share this story...

I phoned up well in advance and booked train tickets to take the Brownies to Cadbury World. There were (let's say) 16 children and 6 adults. Where did they allocate us? ... Yes, the quiet coach. We received filthy looks, but of course we didn't know until we got on the train that it would be the quiet coach, and the train manager was unsympatheic!

OP, YANBU unless there was nowhere else on the train or they'd prebooked their tickets without knowing.

Thanks, Upthechimney.

Unfortunately, my 1yo is not quiet. She's like a tiny Keith Moon

Suffice to say, anyone travelling from London to Sheffield on the 13th of April should avoid the quiet coach

Yes, I've changed my tune (slightly).

If you've pre-booked your tickets and your twattish train company put you in the Quiet carriage, and they won't move your seats, you're excused (maybe a "don't look at me, I pre-booked my seats" t-shirt could be added to the MN line for easy identification?)

If you wander on to the train and then completely disregard the quiet carriage, then you deserve all the looks of wrath that come your way.

For online booking, there's the option for the Quiet Coach. I'd always assumed that unless you deliberately, actively chose that option, you would be allocated seats elsewhere on the train.

Maybe we should all be lobbying for a deliberate active "Not the Quiet Coach" seating option?

The thing that I take from these sorts of threads is that there is a genuine desire for option of the Quiet Coach. And there's an equally strong resentment of it, and castigation of those who want to sit in peace & quiet as "self-important" or "snobbish" (we haven't had that insult yet on this thread, but I've seen it on similar previous threads) which I just really can't fathom.

I was on the quiet coach and a mother with 3 small DCs came on and sat in prebooked seats (not hers) and not together, she looked a bit clueless so was prob either foreign or not au fait with the set up . She had to move at the next stop as she was in someone's seats. This was virgin trains, and the ticket collector/ manager or whatever he was helped her and baggage and DCs to another carriage and seats together. Great that someone was doing his job with little fuss.

Agree upthechimney, I think the train companies are really to blame here for not being clear about this. There should be a clear "Quiet Coach" or "Regular Coach" option when selecting seats, and it should be made quite clear what is allowed/expected whilst in the Quiet Coach.

Otherwise, it's just a bit of a gimmick on behalf of the train companies, and it just causes a lot of pissed off travelers (even more so than normal!).

Yabu in some ways, I have booked on line before and found myself allocated seats in quiet coach with kids. You can click to select quiet coach but there is not an option to select "please not quiet coach". So itis outside parental control whether seats are allocated in quiet coach. So lobby the train company to improve the no line booking if this is an issue for you.

You can be allocated quiet coach even if you don't select that option when booking ticket

Caitlin I do that journey 3/4 times a year and have done it fuor the last 10 years. East coast with it's older trains is actually quite bearable. Virgin with it's aircraft style design, lack if luggage space, overheating, overcrowding is a nightmare. Not every journey, but often enough to make me dread it.

Last time I was forced with three small children and luggage to get the local line to Motherwell (no lift just stairs) then jump on cross country to Crewe (prob in quiet coach tutters) and then change at Crewe for Euston.

I have endured entire train loads of passengers decanted onto my train meaning toilets are locked - no one can move anyway- gave up my seat, while holding baby, for elderly man who could barely stand. None if the folk pugged into various electronic devices gave him a second look.

But the main point is that people zero in on parents with small children, blaming them fir noise, but adults do very often behave much worse.