Railroad Forums 

Discussion related to commuter rail and rapid transit operations in the Chicago area including the South Shore Line, Metra Rail, and Chicago Transit Authority.

Moderators: metraRI, JamesT4

 #515598  by doepack
 
Should Metra create quiet cars on rush hour trains? I think this subject was brought up once by a passenger that wrote in to the monthly newsletter (OTBL), and while I don't recall Metra's response, the letter seemed, like many others before and since, to complain about the level of noise on certain trains. I could see arguments both for and against it; what do you guys think?

 #515651  by EricL
 
For what it's worth, the Quiet Car idea has proven to be successful on the Amtrak Hiawatha trains. One thing that helps is that most of our cars are equipped with at-seat 120v outlets, so on the rush trains, most of the quiet car riders just plug in their laptops and go to town. It's taken some 'break-in' time, but nowadays the quiet car usually stays quiet on its own, without much "policing" necessary.
 #861505  by doepack
 
I've long been in favor of quiet cars, and based on responses to the latest issue (scroll to page 2) of its monthly newsletter, so are many other commuters. Pilot program to begin early next year...
 #861730  by Passenger
 
Why not have quiet cars as the default, and set aside a "loud" car?

And charge extra for it. :wink:
 #861879  by doepack
 
Yeah, that would go over real well. But it stands a better chance of being successful if restricted to rush hour trains only, since more cars are open, and would be easier to designate one without sacrificing capacity otherwise. Perhaps the car behind the locomotive (or the front car on MED)?
 #861930  by metraRI
 
While I really don't have a preference with the quiet car designation, I don't think rush hour trains are really that loud to begin with. There are far more instances I can think of during off-peak service where I would have loved to have a quiet car available.
doepack wrote:Perhaps the car behind the locomotive (or the front car on MED)?
Problem comes when the head car does not open due to platform constraints. Wouldn't be fair for passengers from 153rd Street to get a quiet car but 143rd Street passengers don't because the head car doesn't open due to a shorter platform. :wink:
 #861960  by Tadman
 
I think the issue is moot for <30 minute rides anyway. For guys riding all the way to Fox Lake or University Park, I can understand the need for quiet. But to need a quiet car for the ride to inner suburb stops? That's a little excessive. I ride the CTA, which has this really cool service called "cattle car" where one is so tightly packed into the car one can tell what cologne or perfume a person nearby is wearing and maybe what that person had for breakfast. But it's for 10-15 minutes so I do the "put-up/shut-up" method of coping.
 #871018  by metraRI
 
Metra to test 'quiet cars' on Rock Island line in January
November 12, 2010 10:24 AM

Riders on Metra's Rock Island line will get "quiet cars" in January, officials said today.
Two cars per train will be designated as cell-phone-free zones, and riders will be asked to keep conversations subdued.
The quiet cars will be tested for three months.
More than 800 comments have been received on the issue since Metra announced in October it would test quiet cars.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010 ... nuary.html
 #886581  by metraRI
 
Quiet cars begin in one week on the Rock. Starting January 10th, the head and rear car will be designated as quiet cars during rush hours. I don't think the rear car is the best choice for the quiet car, as late stragglers are forced to board this car before the train departs downtown, but I guess that will be determined in the three month test. This is the logo Metra will be using for the car designation:
http://metrarail.com/content/dam/metra/ ... Decal1.pdf
 #886718  by justalurker66
 
metraRI wrote:Quiet cars begin in one week on the Rock. Starting January 10th, the head and rear car will be designated as quiet cars during rush hours. I don't think the rear car is the best choice for the quiet car, as late stragglers are forced to board this car before the train departs downtown,
Perhaps people who want to ensure the quiet would get there earlier to get the head quiet car (would engine noise be a problem?).

As for the late arrivals, how about making people walk 85ft further and board the 2nd (from rear) car? It should only take a few more seconds.
 #886808  by doepack
 
justalurker66 wrote:
metraRI wrote:Quiet cars begin in one week on the Rock. Starting January 10th, the head and rear car will be designated as quiet cars during rush hours. I don't think the rear car is the best choice for the quiet car, as late stragglers are forced to board this car before the train departs downtown,
Perhaps people who want to ensure the quiet would get there earlier to get the head quiet car (would engine noise be a problem?).
Not really, although some consists on UP have a Pullman car at the head end, and maybe it's just me, but the engine noise seems a bit louder on those cars as compared to the others, especially while waiting in the depot for departure. I'm not sure if any Pullmans are on the Rock, but hopefully the majority of the quiet cars will consist of newer equipment...
 #886812  by metraRI
 
doepack wrote:Not really, although some consists on UP have a Pullman car at the head end, and maybe it's just me, but the engine noise seems a bit louder on those cars as compared to the others, especially while waiting in the depot for departure. I'm not sure if any Pullmans are on the Rock, but hopefully the majority of the quiet cars will consist of newer equipment...
No Pullmans on RI. Of course the rear car is always an 8500, head car on RI is usually a 7300. Seems ADA cars are not used as the head car very often, no clue why.
 #886825  by c604.
 
"Perhaps people who want to ensure the quiet would get there earlier to get the head quiet car (would engine noise be a problem?)."

I'm curious as to the other end of the train; if I understand this right, in the morning the head end quiet car would be the cab car. No talking or cell phones allowed, but horn sounding, bell ringning, automatic brake applying, parking brake whooshing, etc.
 #886861  by doepack
 
c604. wrote:"Perhaps people who want to ensure the quiet would get there earlier to get the head quiet car (would engine noise be a problem?)."

I'm curious as to the other end of the train; if I understand this right, in the morning the head end quiet car would be the cab car. No talking or cell phones allowed, but horn sounding, bell ringning, automatic brake applying, parking brake whooshing, etc.
Well, that would only apply to the front half of the car. And besides, the regular rush hour commuters that already sit there are used to those noises anyway; otherwise they would sit elsewhere...
 #886874  by c604.
 
Half a car is still around 60-70 people, not a small number. And there may be a lot of newcomers in the quiet car that could have been formerly sitting in the middle half on the train...oh well, who cares.

On another note, I agree with MetraRI that some of the off peak trains could really use a quiet car - the ones carrying sports fans, some Saturday nights, etc. Maybe for those trains they could designate a "clown" car for all the characters that are on it :-)