Atomic Systems

On fgw mobile phone users are usually reminded of the staus of the coach and comply. Chiltern Railways is most definitely the worst. What is it about the words Quiet Coach that the non- indigenous users of this service don't understand?
Mobile transmissions should be blocked in quiet coaches.
At one time there was ajoke that Englishmen boarded a train, hid behind a paper and were not seen or heard until the end of the journey.

Ahhh, my pet hate - people on mobiles and ipods blearing out in the quiet zone. Good on the TOC's for starting to put an end to this, I just hope Virgin and Merseyrail follow suit.

I now only travel 1st class when available as I'm fed up with hearing 'Im on the train' or ipods blearing out the latest pain screeching gangster rap rubbish they call music.

Next up... pram free and no screaming baby zones

scorpion71 wrote:Ahhh, my pet hate - people on mobiles and ipods blearing out in the quiet zone. Good on the TOC's for starting to put an end to this, I just hope Virgin and Merseyrail follow suit.

I now only travel 1st class when available as I'm fed up with hearing 'Im on the train' or ipods blearing out the latest pain screeching gangster rap rubbish they call music.

Next up... pram free and no screaming baby zones

Don't think thats going to happen...

Think of all the families that travel on holiday using the train... Saying that you can't take crying babies, let alone prams - is going to cause uproar

6rdfar90 wrote:

scorpion71 wrote:Ahhh, my pet hate - people on mobiles and ipods blearing out in the quiet zone. Good on the TOC's for starting to put an end to this, I just hope Virgin and Merseyrail follow suit.

I now only travel 1st class when available as I'm fed up with hearing 'Im on the train' or ipods blearing out the latest pain screeching gangster rap rubbish they call music.

Next up... pram free and no screaming baby zones

Don't think thats going to happen...

Think of all the families that travel on holiday using the train... Saying that you can't take crying babies, let alone prams - is going to cause uproar

Well it could happen - just allow First Group to expand away from First Great Western and holding Bristol Bus users to ransom : http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bri ... ]According to company policy, pushchairs are not allowed on the bus if the vehicle is full; if there is a wheelchair already onboard, or if it is at a bus stop designated to refuse pushchairs.[/quote]Can you imagine the uproar from disabled groups if they were told they couldn't use the bus since there was already pushchairs onboard ?

Speechless for once

Kindest regards

John

Happens around here though... On many of the buses through my village, (all of them really) there is space for a pushchair, OR a wheelchair. If neither can be folded up, and there is already one on board, tough luck really. Wait for the next bus... Which isn't nice, but thats Britain for you these days...

And with the pushchairs - again same thing happens in leeds. If it is a step on bus for instance, many of them are old, and dont have space for pushchairs anyway, and if the drivers were right, in saying that they couldn't take the pushchair (im not saying they should have done this) but, they would be covering their own backs...

Dead baby, or alive still in town baby?

On the subject of the c2c Quiet Zones, with the plans to install film coatings on the windows of Quiet Zones.

In the October edition (c2c) Commuter News this is what the front page says:


We know that most of you like the idea of the Quiet Zone and welcome the fact that we have created one on all trains; however we are aware that you are concerned about enforcement of this policy on a day-to-day basis.

Therefore, after consultation with the Passenger Panel we have agree the following course of action to begin immediately:

* Installation of a window film which will block mobile phones signals from the coac.

* New on train announcements to clearly identify that you are in the Quiet Zone.

* Quiet Zone vinyls are being refreshed with a stronger message and installed n all Quiet Zone coaches.

* More on train presence to enfornce and monitor the policy.

All trains are formed of four coahces which we will "letter label" A, B, C, D and the Quiet Zone will allways be found in Coach A.



That sounded very promising. And I was hoping to have at least made one journey by now in these new improved mobile phone blocking Quiet Zones. I emailed c2c again to say thanks very much for listening to customers feedback and taking this action on the issue of Quiet Zones, and enquired as to when the first of these new Quiet Zones will be in operation, and an estimate as to when they'll be in operation on every train. The reply I got back was a little dissapointing.......

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the Quietzones on c2c
services.

The decision to implement the Quietzone initially was based on customer
feedback. It is proving quite difficult to find the balance that our
customers require as we have had a lot of feedback both positive and
negative about the Quietzones. We have kept Quietzones to just 1 carriage
in 4 so that customers still have the choice to use their mobile phones,
laptops etc as we appreciate that time spent commuting is also used to
relax with music or to catch up on work.

It is a difficult issue to enforce either way because as you will know, c2c
do not employ Conductors as such and there is often not a member of staff
on board that will be able to assist. The initiative, similar to many train
companies quiet carriages, was intended to be self policing and is really a
call for some passengers to show more consideration for other customer's
travel preferences.

We are currently only trialling the film coating for the glass which will
restrict the use of mobile phones in one of our carriages; we are collating
all feedback in order to decide whether to further the use of this film.

I apologise that I am unable to offer a definitive solution to this problem
but I thank you for taking the time to put forward your views on this
matter; I have logged your comments for the use of the appropriate
management.

Yours sincerely,


Peter Gurd
Customer Relations Advisor
National Express
c2c Rail Limited is a member of National Express Group PLC
Visit our website: www. c2c-online.co.uk


Doesn't sound quite as promising as the front page of London newspapers and in their Commuter News newsletter does it. It will be ABSURD if these plans for the improved mobile phone blocking Quiet Zones do in fact not go ahead, and the mobile phones pests "win" by continueing to be a nuisance using their phones in so called Quiet Zones.

I was onboard a c2c train on Sunday night. Specifically choosing to go in the Quiet Zone as usual. Though a waste of time as usual. I counted TEN people talking on their phones. Everyone of them talking loudly too. Gossipping, and hardly earth shatteringly important urgent phonecalls by any means. Why in heavans name cant these people go in one of the other carriages?? What part of Quiet Zones do these people not understand? Pest, pests, pests(to put it politely).

A few months back whilst on a c2c Quiet Zone there was some person talking loudly on the phone. And I knocked loudly on the Quiet Zone sticker and said "this is a Quiet Zone. Mobile phones not allowed.". A few other people nearby looked surprised. It got the attention of the "offender" and he said "Oh sorry" and quickly ended his call. However, not everyone will react as courteously as he did. And anyone advising people not to use their phones could find themselves of verbal abuse back as a response, or worst still(but far less likely) physical violence. Just look at that case recently when a woman at a station was advising some youths to stop smoking, and their response was to push her onto 3rd rail track. Though fortuntaly she missed the live rail and survived intact.

I got a reply back from c2c a few weeks back. They advised me that the new mobile phone blocked Quiet Zones will be in use on ALL their trains by the end of the year. However, it would still only be a trial. This is good news at least, and we can only hope that the mobile phone blocked carriages will be in use for many many years to come, and that other train companies will follow suite in due course. However for me personally, it's all just a little too late really. As I have now relocated, and no longer need to use c2c trains for any reason!

This is something I just have to see however. So I will be going out that way next month when everyone's back from their Christmas break, I will board a rush hour service from London Fenchurch Street to somewhere like Upminster or Grays(a good 20-30 minute journey respectively), and experience a journey on a packed train and with no mobile phone pests annoying me(and others). This is something I just have to see and experience!