It's time for Metro-North to bring back Quiet Cars.
The railroad, which was canceled during the pandemic, is trailing its heels in bringing back this important passenger comfort despite pleas from both passengers and railroad supporters.
A little history:
When the daily commuter from Philadelphia to New York City proposed on Amtrak in 2000, dedicate one car to each train for a peaceful, cell phone-free, "library-like" atmosphere. An idea was born. The railroad accepted it and eventually rolled it out to all trains.
Best of all, Amtrak conductors enforced the rules and encouraged violators to comply or move to another vehicle. They even once accused then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie of yelling on his cell phone. Also, on a night train from Oakland to Portland, a woman was arrested, charged with disorderly conduct, and kicked off the train for spending 16 hours on the phone.
As early as 2006 (while serving on the CT Rail Commuter Council), I asked Metro-North to follow Amtrak's (and many other major commuter rail) precedents by adding quieter carriages to their trains. I asked you to They flatly refused.
Finally, in 2011, Metro-North reluctantly offered to experiment with the idea. Problems soon arose… not because passengers didn't want a little peace and quiet, but because the Metro-North conductors didn't enforce the rules.
Sure, they made occasional PA announcements and posted signs. .
It's strange. Conductors have no problem enforcing other rules such as showing tickets, no smoking, no luggage on seats. But for the most part they did nothing to enforce this one simple rule: keep quiet.
We saw the same thing happen during COVID when the TSA enacted federal rules about wearing face masks on flights.
Apparently, the conductor didn't want to be confrontational. However, if they look the other way when they encounter a mocker, it leads to conflict between the passengers.
Quiet cars have disappeared during the pandemic. Now, however, the railroad company claims they are trying to put passengers on the train again, but they still refuse to put this simple facility back in place.
The Commuter Council has written a letter to speak on behalf of the riders.But the Connecticut Department of Transportation said, "Talk to the railroad," even though the railroad spent Four months Not even giving the council courtesy of reply.
This time around, I expect Metro-North to do two things: It's about reviving a quiet car. When Enforce the rules.
They used to tell us 'train time is my time'...time to work, read, take a nap. However, train time is "shared time" with up to 100 other passengers in each car.that's why it's called mass transit.
I think that commuting will be more enjoyable if you are considerate of your fellow workers.