First class passengers travelling with rail operator East Coast will soon have the choice of a Quiet Coach where mobile phone calls are banned and travellers are asked to speak quietly
The new First Class Quiet Coach will be launched on all East Coast services on May 22, and joins similar coaches offered by the operator in its standard carriages since 2002.
The carriage in question will be coach K on electric-hauled trains, and coach J on diesel-powered services. In these coaches passengers will be asked to:
- switch off their mobile phones or turn them to silent mode
- make and receive mobile phone calls in the vestibule between the carriages to avoid disturbing others
- refrain from using personal audio devices, gaming consoles or other electrical equipment, except in silent mode
- speak quietly
East Coast says that the majority of its first class customers supported the idea of a Quiet Coach.
“Around four in five people surveyed said they would not mind fellow passengers having conversations quietly while travelling in a Quiet Coach, said East Coast Commercial Director Peter Williams. “However, they would prefer that mobile phones and other electronic devices, including lap top computers and games consoles, were either switched off or switched to the silent mode.”
Reservations for the new Quiet Coach will be available from February 25, for travel from May 22. The addition of the new Quiet Coaches coincides with the launch of the operator’s new timetable on the same date, which the operator says will offer more than three million additional seats per year on the East Coast route, as well as “an improved frequency and pattern of services, and faster typical journeys for millions of passengers”.
For more information visit eastcoast.co.uk/22May.
Report by Mark Caswell
