Hearing only the sound of silence on high-speed trains

SHINE | 14-Dec-2020 | By Hu Min

Hush, it’s a “quiet carriage.” On G2, a high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to Beijing South Railway Station, the No. 3 carriage with a seating capacity of 90 was silent for the entire trip on Thursday morning except for radio announcements and the sound of the train. Passengers rested, checked their phones and used laptops without making a sound. A few chatted but in very low voices.

Wearing earphones, Zhu Mingwei from Shanghai enjoyed peaceful moments in his own musical world. “I noticed the ‘quiet carriage’ option when I bought the ticket online, and it’s certainly worthy of a big thumbs-up,” he said. “I will opt for quiet carriages in the future.” Six Beijing-Shanghai high-speed trains operated by China Railway Shanghai Group — the G2, G3, G5, G12, G13 and G22 — now have a quiet carriage. Passengers must promise to abide by certain standards of conduct when purchasing tickets for the carriage. These include staying quiet, wearing earphones or switching off external speakers when using electronic devices, setting mobile phones to silent or vibration modes and leaving the carriage when making phone calls or chatting. Those with children must ensure they stay silent, and people with infants are encouraged to purchase tickets for other carriages.

Liu Xin, who traveled to Nanjing in neighboring Jiangsu Province, bought a quiet carriage ticket. “I like to have a quiet environment so I can sleep,” she said. “Most of the time, train carriages are noisy with people chatting and talking loudly on their phones. I’ve sometimes traveled in first class in pursuit of a tranquil environment. It’s a good development like the special carriage for women only.” Jack Zhang, who was on the train for a business trip to Beijing, also applauded the new development. “It particularly suits individual passengers like me, because a quiet environment ensures work efficiency,” he said. The first thing Shanghai resident Wang Jianhao did when he boarded the Nanjing-bound train was set his mobile phone to vibrate mode.

“I want to have a sound sleep during the journey because I got up at 7am today,” he said. “Noisy carriages aren’t unbearable, but quiet carriages are needed. I just wanted to give it a try and am very satisfied.” Food service is available in the carriage, and attendants will remind passengers who make noise to refrain from doing so. “We will remind and warn passengers who disobey relevant behavior codes in the carriage, and ask those who answer their phones to leave the carriage for a while,” said Ruan Qiuqian, a train attendant. “If they continue making noise, we may ask them to leave the carriage.” The quiet carriage trial is also taking place on high-speed trains traveling between Chengdu and Chongqing.