One Thing You Are Technically Allowed To Do In An Amtrak Train 'Quiet Car' But Really Shouldn't

Whether you're taking a commuter trip or a lengthy vacation ride, trains are a great way to travel. You don't have to pay attention to the road, deal with the hassle of an airport, or the constant starts and stops of a bus. In fact, traveling by rail is a really popular type of public transportation in America, especially for long-distance trips. However, you're still riding with other people, and those people may disrupt your peaceful trip if they're loud. This is why U.S. train companies like Amtrak have quiet cars — a space to get work done while you travel, sleep a bit so you're refreshed when you reach your destination, or simply contemplate the world as landscapes rush by.

There are a number of rules for passengers who choose to sit in the quiet car, but one thing you are allowed to do is bring in children. Maybe they need a nap or are easily overstimulated and need the quiet car themselves. Nevertheless, kids are kids — they tend to be noisy. While you're certainly allowed to bring them on, you really shouldn't if it can be avoided. 

Before we get into the rules of a quiet train car, there is one thing to know. On Amtrak, a quiet car is always clearly labeled, and it operates on a first-come, first-served basis — unless you take the Acela — and if all the other seats are taken on the train, a last-minute arrival may end up in there without meaning to. (The Acela is the high-speed Amtrak train that goes between Boston with its wonderful Boston Commons public park and the nation's capital, Washington D.C., stopping at downtowns along the way, on which you'll have to reserve a seat on the quiet car.)

The quiet car on an Amtrak train has low lighting so you can chill out, though reading lights are available. The rules state that you're supposed to avoid talking as much as possible, and if you must, do so very quietly. Not talking on your phone goes without saying (or it should, at least), and electronic devices like your tablet or laptop must be used with headphones. However, this isn't a case where you can listen to loud music through them — the volume has to be low enough so that the people around you can't hear the noise right through your headphones. In a nutshell, passengers must be as considerate to others as possible. You can move to the quiet car whenever you like for free, which is a wonderful perk. (In fact, Amtrak encourages you to move around the train, and getting up to stretch can dramatically transform long rides.)

You can see why bringing kids abroad this type of carriage can be an issue. In fact, one person on Reddit mentioned a parent bringing four children under the age of 10 on a quiet car and causing a ruckus. If something like this happens, the best thing to do is to speak to a conductor because getting into an argument on a train isn't exactly going to preserve the peace of the quiet car. Plus, it's possible that the other train cars are full. It happens, and while it's frustrating, there is one thing you can do beyond speaking to someone. It's always a great idea to bring some noise-canceling headphones with you when you travel on public transportation, like the Runolim Hybrid Active Noice Canceling Wireless Headphones.