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What you do about it
Politely ask them to quiet down.
If that doesn't work, get a conductor to explain it to them. The conductors are often plenty willing to relocate passengers who don't get it.
Not always willing to enforce
A conductor once told me that he had quit trying to enforce it, because a passenger whom he had asked to keep quiet, made a complaint to the railroad; the railroad backed the customer, and the conductor ended up with a disciplinary strike on his record.
If you want the conductors to take it seriously, it has to start with management.
Personally, in such situations, I ask myself, "is this person merely clueless?" in which case I point out, politely, "folks take the whole quiet car thing pretty seriously; you're apt to get yelled at." If the person is obviously not merely clueless but is instead a self-entitled jackass, like the guy who tried to do a conference call *on speakerphone* in the quiet car, I simply ask, "Are you fucking serious?" I've never encountered a problem with that approach"
quiet car/amtrak
I took a similar take one Amtrak quiet car ride back to Boston. A family of 4 got on at Penn Sta/NYC, happy to be going on a trip. They settled in the quiet car & as the Dad was arranging the luggage, I said almost the exact same thing to him that you did! He understood and, as they made their way to other seats, thanked me for the "tip."
Most folks are ok in the commuter rail quiet car.
However, I had this master of the universe type of mover and shaker sitting across from me in the quiet car, speaking quite loudly into his phone to let us know how important he was. I could see folks around him were upset so I said something. He gave me a bunch of crap (the guy was a rude bast*rd) but did end the call. Afterwards, I said something to the conductor who told me that he did not see him on the call, even though said conductor took his ticket while Mr. Bloviator had his ear to his phone.
I will still say something to the conductor since it is their job, not mine, to let folks know that they are in the quiet car. If that does not work, I will say something to the person. In my experience, unfortunately, most people will not do anything.
Quiet
It'd be easier if conductors enforced it. As a sometime QC rider, it's not a joy to police fellow riders, I've gotten attitude in response to asking riders to follow the rules. There was almost a fight one morning recently between a quiet rider and a loud phone talker.
Gentleman?
Rather sexist, I've seen plenty of women yapping incessantly on their cells.
Movie reference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAeqVGP-GPM
Sigh
Sorry. Wasn't trying to be sexist. Was playing off a classic line from Dr. Strangelove:
I was being
facetious!
Merton Muffley for President!
…or at least CEO of the MBTA.
"It's Great to Be Fine!"
I was once asked, while
I was once asked, while pregnant and asleep, to change seats with someone else on the quiet car so by two people who said they wanted to sit together to talk. I said no and they clearly thought I was the worst person in the world.
Good for you!
Just because somebody asks you for something doesn't mean s/he's entitled to receive it. I'm not sure that I ever cared what a stranger thought about me but if I did, I stopped caring a long time ago. These days, I care only about not being forced into a meltdown and ending up in a viral Facebook post.
Most trains have a great place to sit together and talk
It is called the Dining Car.
The Acela has no seats in the
The Acela has no seats in the cafe car -- just some tiny hard stools facing a narrow counter. You wouldn't want to perch there for a 3-hour trip.
Regular Amtrak has tables with cushioned benches. But they're often all taken by people with laptops.
...when was the last time you
...when was the last time you rode an intercity train?
Only some Long Distance trains have Dining Cars. Most just have a Cafe (incl. everything from Boston). And when there is a Dining Car, you aren't allowed to just sit there and hang out - those seats are needed for people having meals. Technically you could sit in the Cafe car, but people who sit in the Cafe Car without actually getting any food are just about as annoying as people who talk in the Quiet Car! The limited number of tables in the Cafe are intended for people who are eating.
Late 2015
Portland to Seattle. I was in the quiet car and had to take a call so I moved to the dining car for the duration. It was not a busy dining time, but I bought a snack and a beer. So sue me.
I last took the Acela to DC in 2012 and saw a conductor relocate a pair of passengers who didn't get what quiet car meant.
The Downeaster also has a dining car, despite being a short inner city run.
Nope. The Downeaster only has a cafe car
and not a full dining car.
Wrong Portland
But indeed, unless you are on the Coast Starlight, you only get a café (the standard for the Cascades, which I have never been on, but want to someday.)
You didn't read my post
You didn't read my post closely enough... you were in the Cafe Car, not a dining car. Like I said, only select Long Distance trains actually have a dining car.
And don't worry, buying a snack and a beer perfectly entitled you to a table in the Cafe Car. The problem is just people claiming the tables WITHOUT buying any food or drink.
I've never heard of a rule on
I've never heard of a rule on Amtrak that you have to buy something to sit in the cafe car.
And on trains that are oversold, people have to sit there.
I never said it was a rule -
I never said it was a rule - I said it was common courtesy. If you're not going to be eating, stay at your seat so that other people who are going to be eating will have a table to eat at - instead of having to try and eat at their seats.
Of course if a train is oversold there's no way to avoid it. But that's a special circumstance.
Nope
https://www.amtrak.com/cascades-train
Nope what? Use your words.
Nope what?
Use your words.
You seem to care more about
You seem to care more about dining vs cafe car terminology more than Amtrak does. On the wifi welcome screen on Northeast Corridor trains, the link to the cafe car menu is labeled... "Dining Car".
Yeah, it's like the difference between
Having a nice meal at a sit down restaurant and visiting McDonalds.
Passengers know the difference. I hope Amtrak management does, too.
Commuter Rail too
There's a quiet car on the rush hour commuter trains too, and I have approached many people and said "Excuse me, you're on the quiet car." Some people are very nice about it, some people apologize and move to another car, some people roll their eyes but still shut up, which is all I want anyway. I think most people are just clueless.
I wish more people would do this....you can't always rely on the conductor. What I really wish is they'd just hang a sign that says "Quiet Car" somewhere.
That was me, once
I boarded the CR with a friend and unknowingly got on the quite car. After about 10 seconds of conversing someone firmly told us it was the quite car. I was pretty embarrassed and needless to say, we didn't talk again until our stop.
Sometimes it isn't clear when it's the quite car. I only fault someone when they don't shut up after being reminded.
The Quiet Car is always
The Quiet Car is always the car right next to the locomotive.
Actually normal conversations are allowed on the CR QC.
Unfortunately there are people who need much more help than any transit system can offer to them. There are those that will snap their heads around when someone coughs or sneezes, looking for the offending party. My favorite is when the conductor comes into the car and talks to people and some just get angry and confused because they want to complain, but to who? They should distribute anti-anxiety meds at the door.
What I really wish is they'd
Same! I have been on trains where the conductor made an announcement reminding everyone of the quiet car, but a little magnetic sign stuck above the vestibule door in clear view of everyone would be great.
FWIW Amtrak sticks "Quiet Car" signs in the seat check rails every ~10 ft the length of the car, on both Regionals and the Acela.
I agree
I sit in the quiet car (in each direction) every day, and there are always people who just ignore the fact that they're in the quiet car--and some of them are regulars. It's so annoying. On several occasions I've said something to the offender, politely. Sometimes I say something like "I'm sorry to interrupt, but you might not know you're in the quiet car." And sometimes they don't--and they're very apologetic. But on more than one occasion I've been yelled at or told I should move to another car. And much of the time the conductors won't enforce it or intervene. I've suggested signs many times. Since they change cars a lot I've suggested a simple S hook with a large rigid plastic sign that can be hung throughout the car from the luggage racks. But no.
Again quiet convos are allowed on the CR
Conductors even explain when they leave (North/South) Station. Unfortunately that doesn't help with people who feel they have been given authority over other people (You are breaking a Rule, now you have to deal with my bi-polarmania). Except for the people here of course. When they do it they are heroes and not suffering from any nervous disorders at all.
You don't seem to understand
You don't seem to understand the difference between a quiet conversation and an obnoxiously loud phone call.
One is allowed in the CR QC, the other is not.
No, I absolutely do understand that, and I agree with you.
If you were to read what I wrote things may become clearer to you. I'm poking fun at the people who wig out at the slightest provocation, as well as those who have confessed here that they live to confront people for talking in the QC. (Unleash your hate young Skywalker). If you say you aren't one of those people I believe you, but they do exist.
I did read what you wrote -
I did read what you wrote - particularly the following:
Which sounds an awful lot like you condescendingly proclaiming that all of us who complain about people talking on the phone in a quiet car are crazy.
I was being condescending to those I just told you I was.
At no point did I ever sat anything about people speaking loudly on phones, watching videos with headphones, etc. I spoke exclusively about people having normal conversations, and how it affects people on the train who are damaged. You seem to be taking this very personally.
Nope, not taking it
Nope, not taking it personally at all.
I just objected to your characterization of people who complain about talking in the quiet car as mentally ill.
"quiet convos"
I think the standard should be that BRIEF conversations are OK. As in "This train goes to Worcester, right?" "Yes, it does." "Thanks." If you and your friend want to sit together and chat all the way home, then you probably shouldn't be on the quiet car.
And by the way, if the conductors aren't going to enforce it, who else is supposed to do it?
The conductors out of North station instruct people
To keep their voices down and be considerate of their neighbors. I have never heard them say anything about keeping convos short. Again, you may need more than a simple train ride can provide.
Quiet Car on CR is optional depending on crowding
and the train crew. For example, if a train is normally six cars, but is a shorter consist instead that morning or evening due to mechanical or assignment issues, the conductor has the authority to suspend the quiet car rules.
I think
This is bogus and usually just because the conductors can't be bothered enforcing the quiet car. It's the norm on most nights for us to have a "short" train--and our conductor always announces that we're in the quiet car and mostly enforces it. When he's on vacation the replacement conductors decide that because it's a short train they're suspending the quiet car. If anything, a more crowded train is all the more reason to enforce the quiet car.
Why does the quiet car get canned?
Why is it that the one, single quiet car gets lost, instead of one of the 4 loud cars? Wouldn't
I remember this from the old days where smoking was allowed in many places -- if the smoking car was full, some people figured that entitled them to light up in any other car.
Society really missed a trick
The first time the first person decided it was OK to subject an entire bus or train to their phone call, and the passengers who let it happen without giving them the Indiana Jones "No Ticket" treatment, set a terrible precedent that we'll never recover from.
FWIW, being a visibly active eavesdropper seems to be a little bit successful. Nod along, chuckle when appropriate, and let the caller know that if you have to listen to them, you're GOING to listen to them.
Been there, done that.
Been there, done that. Occasionally, I start to sing ("Jingle Bells" is my favorite 11 months out of the year) or read my book out loud. You want to do it quietly of course -- not so loud that you disturb others but just loud enough to freak out the offender so that s/he moves near someone else.
When aboard public transportation, you can never underestimate the utility of seeming just a tad unhinged.
Yep
If you don't want a partner in a double, don't put your bag on the spare when someone approaches. Stare them down, smile broadly, and pat the seat.
I once had the opposite problem
A long while back, I was traveling from DC to Back Bay (yep, that's how I roll) on Amtrak. I realized I was hitting BBY around my then girlfiend's possible lunch hour, so I called her to make possible plans. Not in the Quiet Car. Trying to make it short and to the point (I mean, she was working.) Yet I got shushed by the old bag behind me. I flip the script- don't expect peace and quiet in the other cars.
That said, I hate it in general when quiet spaces are not respected, which is why I know I wasn't in the Quiet Car.