Train journeys can be exhausting at the best of times, but thankfully, there are often quiet carriages where passengers can relax in peace - and maybe even catch a quick nap.
But one passenger was left fuming recently when she sat down in the seat she'd booked on a train's quiet carriage, only to find that the seats beside her were occupied by a mum and her toddler, who wouldn't stop "shouting and screaming".
The woman said she had specifically booked a quiet carriage seat because she needed to concentrate on some work, and was unable to do so with the young boy's noise distracting her.
The woman was furious with the boy's noise (stock photo) (Getty Images)The passenger eventually decided to speak to the boy's mum about keeping the noise down, but was left unsatisfied with her answer - as she claimed there was nothing she could do.
In a post on Mumsnet, the woman wrote: "I specifically booked a seat on a quiet carriage as I'm working on a 4-hour train journey (as are most people in the carriage, or reading, snoozing etc). Next to me on the other side of the aisle is a mum with a two-year-old who is watching his iPad at full volume. He has been running around up and down the aisle with another child, shouting, screaming and so on.
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"I was trying to concentrate on something, listening on my headphones and politely asked the mum if they could keep it down - at this point the kid was literally next to my seat, in the aisle, jumping up and down and shouting. She just said, 'he's two, what do you expect me to do?'
"I mean they're kids, they're little, they're bored. But am I being unreasonable in thinking the parents should at least try and moderate their behaviour, remind them to be quiet, and try and get them to sit down and do something a bit calmer? Even if it's not always successful?
"Or preferably not book the bloody quiet carriage."
The woman later added that the mum proceeded to have a "chat with someone on loudspeaker", and said there were "spare seats dotted around" on the train that the mum and her child could have sat in away from the quiet carriage.
Commenters on the post were largely on the woman's side, as although they said that toddlers would naturally make some level of noise, they shouldn't be sat in quiet carriages.
One person wrote: "I originally was going to say you are being unreasonable because as we know, two-year-olds are very loud. But as it's the quiet carriage I think it's perfectly fine to say that."
While another added: "I mean, he's going to make a bit of noise at two, but shouting and screaming, iPad on full volume is unnecessary and she should be doing something about it. I second those saying get the guard or ticket inspector, she should be moved if it's the quiet carriage."
And a third posted: "There's a special place in hell for people who watch their phones/have conversations on speakerphone/let kids watch or play iPads at full volume in public spaces. No one, and I can say this with confidence, wants to hear the tinny din coming from someone else's device."
"I agree she should keep them quiet," a fourth reasoned, "but she may have been given tickets for the quiet coach without choosing them.
"When mine were little I'd be booking for one adult and three children and often got put in the quiet carriage. My heart used to sink, because although they were generally very good, and we didn't have screens either, I always felt under pressure."
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