‘Loudcasting’ – such as playing music on phones – is one of passengers’ top ten dislikes
Published 12th Oct 2026, 16:45 BST
We all want a smooth, hassle-free – even enjoyable – journey when we’re travelling, especially when it’s a long one. But that must not be at everyone else’s expense, and I’m becoming less and less tolerant of what appears to be an increasingly prevalent scourge.
I’m talking about loudcasting. Even if you haven’t heard the term before, you’ll have experienced it on trains and buses – people using their mobile phones and other devices without headphones. It’s folk effectively colonising public spaces for their own personal convenience – to the extreme inconvenience of fellow passengers.
I often wonder whether such miscreants are oblivious or unaware of the effect on others of making a phone or video call, or listening to music or watching videos – or just arrogant and selfish. Regardless of that, it’s excruciating to have to listen to and I regard it as a very unwelcome intrusion.
Quiet coach anything but
I used to endure such experiences knowing that I would have the catharsis of being able to write about them. Then, when it kept happening, I’d curse myself for not booking a seat in the quiet coach on my next Glasgow-London journey.
As train operator Avanti West Coast advertises these carriages: “Need a quiet break away from the bustle of train travel? Here, you can unwind, catch up on work or enjoy a rest without being disturbed.”
I thought that would be the perfect haven to further improve long-distance train travel, which already has many advantages over air, such as in connecting city centres with city centres, and the lack of multiple airport queues.
But, when I remembered to use the quiet coach the next time, I discovered to my astonishment and horror that some passengers there were far from quiet.
The coach is the nearest one to the concourse at Glasgow Central, so perhaps people had chosen it without realising. That would not surprise me, since folk boarding are likely to be preoccupied with finding a seat and might not notice the relatively inconspicuous quiet coach signs beside the train door and in the vestibule. I don’t recall seeing any signs in the coach itself.
To compound that, on that and several other journeys, the train manager – guard – failed to mention the quiet coach in their announcements. Avanti later confirmed to me that they should have done that to remind passengers there “to keep noise to a minimum”. To make matters worse, no staff came through the carriage to make ticket checks.
So, to give passengers the benefit of the doubt, it’s possible they were unaware where they were sitting – not that choosing another carriage should be a licence to inflict your noise on everyone.
Some awkward situations
However, I’m no longer someone who will just sit there and stew. I now gently and politely – I hope – remind loudcasters that they are in the quiet coach.
Generally, they are apologetic, if surprised to be challenged. But you have to get the tone right, because it’s likely that everyone sitting nearby will hear you and you’re then stuck with them for several more hours.
But I’ve also found myself in some awkward situations. On one occasion, I sat opposite an old man with reduced mobility who appeared to have had his seat booked by a relative, and he didn’t seem aware he was in a quiet coach.
The man was clearly anxious and confused as the train was running late, and repeatedly called his relative to ask about when it would arrive. This involved several prolonged conversations, so he was on the phone more than he was off it.
What should I do? There were no spare seats in the carriage for me to move to, so would I be heartless enough to ask him to struggle to another coach to continue his calls? I decided that would cross the line and make me the selfish one, and perhaps incite opprobrium from other passengers, so I simply asked him whether he was aware he was in the quiet coach. I don’t think he understood.
A big issue for passengers
My point in relating this is that I shouldn’t have had to deal with the situation. If train operators are going to designate coaches as “quiet”, these need to operate in more than name only.
I think most people would agree with me. Last month, research by east coast train operator LNER, which has its own “quieter coaches”, showed that talking loudly on the phone topped passengers’ list of “Top Ten Train Don’ts”, with 59 per cent disliking it. It was followed by playing music out loud, at 53 per cent.
The company even felt it needed to offer passengers free hot drinks on National Quiet Day on September 14 to highlight the issue. Last year, LNER also found that its quieter coaches were among passengers “top train comforts” after getting a window seat and good wifi.
Loudcasting is, alas, also a phenomenon on buses, as I suffered for an hour on one journey. But I’m glad to see one company is taking action. Lothian, Edinburgh’s main operator, where buses provide the main public transport, has added loudcasting to its list of anti-social behaviour in its conditions of carriage.
That states: “Failure to comply with these conditions may result in immediate or future travel refused.” It defined loudcasting as “excessive noise including playing any form of audio at a volume that can be heard by other passengers and which may cause a disturbance”.
I look forward to seeing offenders thrown off buses. I just wish train operators could threaten to do the same, but it appears they do not have the power.
Annoyingly, I may have to rely on a hard stare doing the trick.