Quiet on the Rails: "Quiet Cars" Debut on Some High-Speed Trains

If you’re looking for some peace and quiet while taking the train – without having to listen to obnoxious chatting, loud phone conversations, or TikTok laughing tracks blasting at full volume from the seat two rows behind you – this dream is now a reality.

Select high-speed trains traveling between Beijing and Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, and Chengdu and Chongqing will now give passengers the option to book tickets in what have been dubbed “quiet compartments” (静音车厢 jìngyīn chēxiāng), according to Beijing Evening News.

When riding in these new quiet cars, passengers will need to abide by a set of rules including keeping phones on silent or vibrate, leaving the compartment to make or take calls, using headphones when watching videos or listening to music, and, of course, keeping talking to a low volume in the quiet car.

The quiet cars will be marked by a “quiet” sign on the doors to remind anyone passing through to keep quiet, and attendants will be on hand to remind passengers riding in the cars to comply with the rules.

Booking a ticket for a quiet car is relatively simple. All one has to do is go to the official China Rail app – 铁路12306 (tiělù 12306) – and, when searching train routes, look for the phrase 静 jìng next to the train number.

Then, when selecting a ticket, look for the same jìng character next to the seat class (silent car tickets are only available for second class at time of writing) and be sure to check the box next to 请优先为我分配“静音车厢”席位 qǐng yōuxiān wèiwǒ fēnpèi “jìngyīnchēxiāng” xíwèi (please give me priority for a “silent car” seat) before submitting your booking.

It’s worth noting that you’ll need to use the Chinese version of the Tielu 12306 app when booking, as quiet cars aren’t currently demarcated in the English version.

Are you looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet when taking the train? Got any noisy horror stories from past trips? Let us know in the comments!

READ: Line 1 Branch Line to Connect Four Lines with Fengtai, Shijingshan

Images: Unsplash, 中国铁路, theBeijingers