Belgian rail company SNCB began a test phase for silent compartments within trains on Tuesday. The project will run until 31 May, SNCB announced on its website, confirming rumours from the Flemish press published over a week ago.
The first “quiet zones” will be set up within trains connecting Eupen to Osten and Brussels to Luxembourg. Travellers will be able to choose between sitting in a seat in a normal carriage, where they can chat as usual with friends or colleagues, or a quiet carriage “where silence, even concentration and rest, is in place.”
Quiet areas will be located within 2nd class carriages. Travellers will not have to pay extra to access these zones and no reservation will be necessary. Quiet areas will be located at the front or rear of the train and will be identifiable by “quiet zone” stickers placed outside and inside the carriages.
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Passengers sitting in these quiet zones will be asked to keep quiet. If passengers speak, it must be as quietly as possible. Mobile phones must be put in silent mode and the volume of music played through headphones should be low.
During the test period, flyers will be distributed to travellers encouraging them to leave their feedback about the new offering. This concept has existed for more than 20 years in the Netherlands, and even longer in the United Kingdom.
