Quieter coach on train, shouldn’t it be quiet?

[Seymour5]

Fairly lengthy train journeys recently, we booked the quieter coach well in advance, because we like to read or quietly look at the scenery. On the outward journey there was a man holding various face time conversations quite loudly. The woman sitting in her booked seat next to him was getting really fed up, and eventually moved. The younger guy behind us kept playing bits of music on his phone.

Coming home, the first part of the journey was bliss. We changed trains, and the two passengers behind never stopped yakking loudly. Why would anyone book a seat in a quiet coach only to be noisy? No staff around once the tickets were checked, and we are older and don’t wish to risk a confrontation. Twenty years ago my younger and healthier DH might have said something, but not now.

I always chose the quiet coach pre kids and I'm pretty sure there are stickers on the windows asking people not to use mobile phones. I would have pointed to those as I have done in the past and said "excuse me, this is the quiet coach, please could you do that in the vestibule?"

Yes it should, but if you won't to risk confrontation you'll just have to put up with it!

I'd mention it when staff come round, but probably not directly, although I'd probably be passive-aggressive huffing & puffing quite a bit..

To me, these days the quiet coach on a train just means a coach that isn't full of adults on hen and stag weekends getting pissed and shouting and swearing in front of families with young children as early as 9 in the morning. This is why I never travel by train unless absolutely necessary.
Yes, quiet should mean quiet but I don't think it means no talking at all.

I also hate this. There is the rest of the train available for phone conversations. Do it there!
And because most people are quieter, the noise travels so much more and is even more invasive than in a normal carriage

@EllaPaella Oh, aren't those DREADFUL? :-(

Yes the quiet coach should be quiet.
Although some people might just get on the train and find the first empty seat and not realise they are in the quiet coach.
But mostly it's down to behaviour that's the same on any public transport.... selfish people who just don't give a toss.

Annoying isn't it. We recently had a group of four travelling to a gig and staying over, constant snacks and canned cocktails/beer en route, chatting loudly for two hours. Must have booked early as they had reserved a table and window seats together on a busy train. Lots taking and making calls too.

You used to be able to reserve a seat in the Quiet Coach by accident.

I used to book early to get a good deal on First Class. A lot more calm and relaxing. (My DD got extremely stressed by crowds and loud noise... but was pretty much silent herself. Her sister was satisfied with a tablet and headphones... we didn't disturb anyone. )

I once did that abroad with toddler dd in a buggy - the looks! Fortunately only a 15 minute journey.

@LIZS oops.
I was on a train once in the quiet carriage and a group of giggly teenage girls got on and yes they were noisy. But this one horrible man started shouting at them - ranting and raving and was very aggressive. A staff member was called down and the girls were really upset and kept apologising - they simply hadn't realised. They happily moved to another carriage but loud aggressive man stayed where he was.
I got up and moved too because quite frankly his behaviour was frightening.
He should have been chucked off the train in my opinion.

Peoples' behaviour on trains is becoming ridiculous. The other week I was on a cross country service and a bunch of twenty something girls got on, clearly off to an all night party (it was 2 pm but hey), and they decided to start a disco in their 4 person talk seat. We all had to listen to their music, shrieks, stupid conversations for over an hour. So selfish.

Either confront it or go and find the guard - only other alternatives are put up with it or move. Shame, but that is how it is.

That reminds me that of another trip recently, mid morning on a hot day, when we ran into a group on a Thameslink, probably youngish professionals who were presumably off to a festival or party, scantily dressed, loud, swigging from bottles and shots, standing as train was packed. For them the party had already started, for fellow travellers , many with children, it was very uncomfortable.

I doesn’t mean silent, so I think people chatting to each other is fine - as long as not those loud, drunk conversations that people have, or people who seem to have to yell and exclaim every single thing.

Phone calls shouldn’t be happening though.

Why on earth didn't you say something. "Please could you keep the noise down, this is the quiet coach". More fool you if you didn't.

We ended up in the quiet carriage with our toddler a few months back. We didn’t book seats there, weren’t any available to book, it was just the only carriage with free seats.

We didn’t realise it was the quiet carriage until DH went to the toilet and saw the sign but there wasn’t a chance I was going to try and keep my toddler quiet.

She wasn’t shouting and screaming or running down the train, she was well behaved, but she was chatty and wanted to play and I wouldn’t have stopped her to try and appease someone else.

We've accidentally been booked into a quiet coach recently with two kids under 5 (had to input the ages). When we queried this with the conductor he said the quiet coach doesn't really mean anything, and is randomly assigned seats if someone doesn't choose one.

Because they’re inconsiderate gits.

I accidentally got on the quiet coach with my 3 & 5 year old a few weeks back. Guess I was too busy wrangling them & bags/stopping them causing chaos to notice the stickers until after we sat down.

As soon as I noticed, I told the children we should move and up we get, only for five year old to start asking spectacularly loudly 'But why do we have to move? What's a quiet carriage? WHY?! AM I NOT BEING QUIET MUMMY? IS THIS QUIET?? WHY DO WE HAVE TO MOVE!!!?' as I slowly manoeuvred them out. 😂

I get a long train journey 3 or 4 times a year and always book for the travel coach. I can count on one hand the amount of times I HAVEN'T had to ask someone to be quiet in the last 2 years.

I hate confrontation but I hate sitting there with my blood boiling and my peace ruined even more.

You can review the auto allocation and change them but agree ut should be more prominently flagged.

We also ended up with reserved seats in a quiet carriage when we were travelling on a family railcard. As it happened, DD was asleep, so it was no problem, but I did feel that we shouldn't have been allocated to that carriage.

Instead of a quiet coach could the standard be quiet and all the noisy people can go in the "noisy coach" and Facetime and place music and Youtube on speaker to their heart's content, please?

Yes but people are selfish and suffer from main character syndrome. The tinny music makes me want to murder the perps. Even worse are the fucking rugby oafs that have conversations about their, I don't know, erectile dysfunction or whatever at 90 fucking decibels. And people on the phone performing their conversation for the benefit of everyone, argh.