Now I've seen it all on Amtrak

Old Jun 11, 2015, 9:54 am
  #31  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
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While it's obviously not a criminal act to be noisy in the Quiet Car (although some Quiet Car aficionados may think it should be), being noisy is a "violation" of Amtrak's policy. Perhaps a reminder that Amtrak Police will enforce Amtrak's policies at the next station stop would convince people to keep quiet.
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Old Jun 12, 2015, 5:02 am
  #32  
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Originally Posted by Freckles68
Noisemakers generally tell fellow passengers to go eff themselves when reminded they're in the Quiet Car, and continue their conversations either with their companion or on the phone.
In the case of phone yappers, who either don't hear shushing or don't care, I've found it especially effective to stand in the aisle slightly in front of them -- that is, fully in their field of vision -- and look at them. No stink eye, just "I'm looking at you with mild disappointment because you are drawing attention to yourself" gazing. We are hardwired to find overt observation unsettling (and then socially conditioned to observe social norms), so it takes an authentic sociopath not to be shamed into compliance.

For the record, if you do this & the offender gives you lip, other pax will back you up. All it takes is for someone to lead.
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Old May 8, 2017, 10:22 am
  #33  
 
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What is the board's opinion of noise in sleeper cars? My occasional experiences (like once per year) on long-haul sleeper cars is that they should be a place of quiet like the Acela quiet cars. Not absolute silence, but generally quiet.

I just disembarked from the Southwest Chief, and for most of the way from Albuquerque to Kansas City, an adult woman (presumably the grandmother) and a 8-10 year old boy "played" in the corridor and around the staircase. This included a lot of shouting and running. At least three times I had to ask to get around them (they were blocking the access to the dining car or bathrooms), and at 10pm last night I finally said something directly to be quiet, as people were trying to sleep. They were at it again by 6am today.

I talked about it with the sleeper attendant, but she said there was nothing she could do. FWIW, she was of the "passive" attendant school -- my best experiences have been with the more active attendants.

Anyhow, what is the correct etiquette for this situation, and what is Amtrak policy around disruptive passengers?
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Old May 9, 2017, 2:51 pm
  #34  
 
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Originally Posted by fastflyer
What is the board's opinion of noise in sleeper cars? My occasional experiences (like once per year) on long-haul sleeper cars is that they should be a place of quiet like the Acela quiet cars. Not absolute silence, but generally quiet.

I just disembarked from the Southwest Chief, and for most of the way from Albuquerque to Kansas City, an adult woman (presumably the grandmother) and a 8-10 year old boy "played" in the corridor and around the staircase. This included a lot of shouting and running. At least three times I had to ask to get around them (they were blocking the access to the dining car or bathrooms), and at 10pm last night I finally said something directly to be quiet, as people were trying to sleep. They were at it again by 6am today.

I talked about it with the sleeper attendant, but she said there was nothing she could do. FWIW, she was of the "passive" attendant school -- my best experiences have been with the more active attendants.

Anyhow, what is the correct etiquette for this situation, and what is Amtrak policy around disruptive passengers?
Correct etiquette is opening the door and throwing them out without slowing down. People need to understand that you shall show at the very least some consideration when you are using public transport.

It will not be absolute quiet and kids will make sounds. But there are limits.
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Old May 11, 2017, 8:06 am
  #35  
 
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Sleeping Car Noise Levels

The Pullman Company used to address this issue in its sleepers, with a poster stating: "Quiet Is Requested For The Benefit Of Those Who Have Retired".

Unfortunately, that is from another era, and if Amtrak put up something similar, a pax would either deface it or tear it into shreds. So much for the generalization of FC travelers being a cut above.
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Old May 13, 2017, 8:41 am
  #36  
 
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Originally Posted by fastflyer
What is the board's opinion of noise in sleeper cars? My occasional experiences (like once per year) on long-haul sleeper cars is that they should be a place of quiet like the Acela quiet cars. Not absolute silence, but generally quiet.

I just disembarked from the Southwest Chief, and for most of the way from Albuquerque to Kansas City, an adult woman (presumably the grandmother) and a 8-10 year old boy "played" in the corridor and around the staircase. This included a lot of shouting and running. At least three times I had to ask to get around them (they were blocking the access to the dining car or bathrooms), and at 10pm last night I finally said something directly to be quiet, as people were trying to sleep. They were at it again by 6am today.

I talked about it with the sleeper attendant, but she said there was nothing she could do. FWIW, she was of the "passive" attendant school -- my best experiences have been with the more active attendants.

Anyhow, what is the correct etiquette for this situation, and what is Amtrak policy around disruptive passengers?
For the sky-high price I pay for sleeping car space on Amtrak, I expect general peace and quiet, although not total silence.

I consistently get terrible customer service on the Crescent. The staff simply does not care about providing good customer service and views passengers as an inconvenience, so I wouldn't expect the staff to do anything about noisy passengers. So I'd confront the noisy passengers myself.
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Old Jun 17, 2017, 11:46 pm
  #37  
 
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Regarding noisy passengers, especially children. I always ask for a roomette on the lower level, this sometimes puts me next door to the "family room," which has 4 bunks.

A few years ago I got on the train in L.A. and saw there were several children in the family room next to me. I was expecting the worst. Turns out it was a French-Canadian family who had just bicycled (including the 5-year-old) from San Francisco to L.A. They were on their way home.

The parents were in another room upstairs. To my great surprise the 4 children were extremely quiet, very polite, and I never heard ANYTHING from the adjacent room. I happened to look in the room the next morning (door was open) and it looked like an explosion in a toy factory, but the kids were practically silent for the entire trip. The parents came down a few times to check on them and asked me if they were making noise. This experience certainly gave me a great impression of French-Canadian kids.

I'm with everyone else on this thread, noise makers should be forced to move from any Quiet Car. That redcap certainly never should have put people with a crying baby in a Quiet Car. And the conductor was a wimp.
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Old Jul 11, 2017, 3:13 pm
  #38  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
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It is amazing not only how selfish people are but how stupid they can go about it. When I drove a tour bus in Alaska there was one passenger who was talking with someone on his speaker phone while the tour guide was giving a talk.
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Old Jul 12, 2017, 1:53 pm
  #39  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
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I think, at the very least, "quiet car rules" should apply to public areas of sleeper cars (and any rooms with doors open) from the start of dinner service through the end of breakfast. Sleeper cars are called that for a reason.
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Old Jul 27, 2017, 1:21 am
  #40  
 
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Originally Posted by theddo
Then don't take the train? If you do take the train and do sit in the quiet car please be quiet. If that simple request is to much to fathom I fully support immediate eviction.
Can the eviction at least wait until the train reaches a station and stops. Otherwise it seems a little harsh. Maybe.
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Old Jul 27, 2017, 2:13 pm
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by JamesBigglesworth
Can the eviction at least wait until the train reaches a station and stops. Otherwise it seems a little harsh. Maybe.
I could imagine a scenario were the train slows down.
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Old Jul 27, 2017, 9:01 pm
  #42  
 
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Originally Posted by theddo
I could imagine a scenario were the train slows down.
It is good that a reasonable compromise could be reached.
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