The National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB) plans to equip all intercity trains with special “quiet carriages”, reports euro-pulse.ru.
In these carriages, passengers are advised to follow a number of rules: refrain from talking on the phone, use headphones at minimum volume, turn off the sound on mobile devices and communicate in a whisper.
The concept of “quiet carriages” has already been successfully tested on the Brussels-Luxembourg and Eupen-Ostend routes. According to surveys, 70% of Belgian passengers support the idea of quiet zones on trains, and 30% said they would use rail transport more often if such zones were available.
A similar practice already exists in a number of European countries, including Austria, Poland, the Netherlands and Germany.