Passenger preaching in quiet carriage divides opinion on what the rules really are
We’ve all been there. You reserve a seat on the quiet carriage and suddenly a man is watching football out loud or a gang of women crack open M&S tinnies.
But have you ever had someone preach the word of Jesus as you try and relax during your two hour journey?
A young woman, named Tessy on her X account, recorded herself quoting verses from the New Testament to her fellow passengers on the Avanti West Coast service.
She can be heard saying: ‘Hello everyone, I know this is a quiet zone so I’m just going to take two minutes.
‘I just want to tell you that Jesus loves you and he came to die for you. And he says: “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
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‘If you haven’t accepted Jesus into your life today you can call him and say Jesus, I want you in my life. And he will come. He will come into your heart, he will fill your heart with love.’
In typical British fashion, no one dared be deemed rude enough to interrupt her speech. But the footage does show an obvious attempt to avoid eye contact with Tessy at all costs.
Fellow Christians have been quick to praise her for her bravery, calling her ‘inspiring’.
One person commented: ‘Quiet zone section and you still stood up to share the gospel! Truly inspiring! This gospel of the Kingdom, must be preached EVERYWHERE….That’s our driving force!’
Another added: ‘On these same British trains, you see drunkards shouting, beggars going from carriage to carriage asking for money, football hooligans singing, etc, but you’re angry that she’s telling people Jesus loves them?’
But the majority of comments were quick to ask Tessy to ‘never do this again’.
‘You can’t win the heart of people because you’ve already irritated them. They are in the quiet zone for a reason,’ one wrote.
Another said: ‘Faith is personal; disrespecting others’ peace isn’t holy—it’s performative.’
What are the (written and unwritten) rules of travelling in the quiet carriage?
On the Avanti West Coast website, ‘Quiet Coaches’ are described as a place where passengers can sit ‘without being disturbed’.
The site states: ‘Need a quiet break away from the bustle of train travel? On our Pendolino trains, you’ll find our designated Quiet Coaches in Coach A.
‘Here, you can unwind, catch up on work or enjoy a rest without being disturbed.’
This tends to mean no playing music out loud, and no having a screaming contest with your travel companions.
But even this seems like a lot for some people to process, so Metro took a look at some of the unwritten social rules for sitting in a quiet coach.
The unwritten rules of travelling by train in the quiet coach
- Food choices – anything that has a strong smell, is hot or particularly crunchy can wait to be eaten when you are not in a confined moving metal box.
- Phone calls and Facetimes – just don’t do them. Elsewhere on a train will be more acceptable, but a quiet coach is for minimal movement of mouths.
- Children – controversial, but if you have a child who is not old enough to remain reliably quiet, they are not old enough to graduate into the quiet coach. If they can only play on their iPads with their volume on high, that is also a sign to sit elsewhere.
- Snoring – if you fall asleep knowing you have sleep apnea, prepare for fellow passengers to get irritated.
- Wearing headphones – this is a must if you plan on listening to music or watching a show while travelling. Absolutely no one cares about your football team’s latest loss, so don’t force us to learn about it.
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