carriages

FROM playing music out loud to putting your feet on the seats – travelling by train in the UK can be an infuriating experience.

But I’ve found a new frustrating trend – reserved carriages for school groups.

As someone who regularly commutes to London by train, I already have the daily battle of finding a seat, especially one with a table.

But I’ve noticed a recent surge in entire carriages being booked by teachers ahead of taking entire classes into London for the day.

According to Southeastern: “If your group is at least 30 people, we can look into reserving a carriage for you, although it may not always be possible during busier periods.

“Reserved carriages will generally be at the rear of a train, and will be marked with labels in the windows and on the doors stating that the carriage is reserved for your group.

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“There isn’t a charge for reserving a carriage.”

While this may sound grumpy at first – after all, who wants to try and find 30 seats for school kids – my complaint comes with both the timing and space.

My train is regularly a four-carriage train until later in the journey.

Not only that, but as a commuter train, seats cannot be reserved until other train operators, so most seats are find-as-you-get-on.

So with a whole carriage taken up by a school, it ends up making these other busy carriages already a lot more chaotic.

A poor train conductor had the awkward task of kicking everyone already sitting in the carriage before the reserved time out onto the platform as they waited for an attachment

Not only that, but many of them are being booked for the morning commute, often around 9am.

In my opinion, there should be blocked out times to allow weary office-dwellers their last chance of respite before having to be stuck staring at a computer for nine hours.

At least there is one upside – I know which carriage to actively avoid unless I want to be subjected to streams of TikTok videos being played out loud next to me.

However, the Sun’s Head of Travel (Digital) Caroline McGuire backs reserved carriages.

She said: “As a school mum who has been on a lot of class trips in recent years, I think this decision by the train company to reserve an entire carriage for the kids is genius. 

“Herding a group of children on and off transport through London – one of the world’s busiest cities – is a nightmare. 

“Will you get them all in one carriage? Will one get left behind? Will they all get seats?

“Will the ‘other’ members of the public get annoyed with the exceptionally loud noise that accompanies 30-plus kids on a day out? 

“This allows them to make sure all of the children travel safely, while causing minimal issues for other passengers. 

“It’s so smart, I’m considering suggesting it to my child’s school next time that I accompany them on a trip.”

A train company recently launched adult-only carriages.

And here’s a converted train carriage you can spend the night in.

CONTROVERSIAL new plans are being introduced in a European country which bans kids from certain train carriages.

Rail operator SNCF has unveiled a new ‘Optimum’ carriage on its high-speed Inoui trains where during the week, there’s a ban on children.

It’s described it as a “high-quality travel experience” and is generally for commuters who want quiet before heading into the office.

Optimum class is a dedicated first class carriage, with reclining seats, individual power outlets, reading lights, free Wi-Fi and winged headrests.

Online details add that “to ensure maximum comfort in the dedicated space, children are not permitted”.

The carriage will always be at the end of the train which will stop passengers from walking through the Optimum dedicated area so it will remain quiet.

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The ticket also includes use of TGV INOUI lounges in stations which have high performing Wi-Fi, drinks, an entertainment portal as well as newspapers and magazines.

The Optimum carriage is only available on SNCF’s main Inoui brand of express trains, which run across France and into Germany and Luxembourg.

And the ticket is also only an option from Monday to Friday – during the weekends every carriage is open to passengers of all ages.

And tickets don’t come cheap, A one-way journey from Paris to Lyon taking just over two hours is regularly priced at €56 (£48.63).

But with Optimum tickets it’s €180 (£156.31).

Not everyone is onboard with the decision though.

On the French news outlet, BFM, the French high commissioner for children, Sarah El Hairy, described the child-free ban as “shocking”.

The podcast Les Adultes de demain also said that “a red line has been crossed” and the the company shouldn’t be excluding children.

In its response to criticism, SNCF pointed out that the Optimum carriage forms less than 8 per cent of the total capacity of a TGV InOui train.

While this may be a first for rail, it isn’t for the skies as some airlines have introduced dedicated child-free zones in recent years.

Corendon Airlines has ‘Only Adult’ zones for travellers over the age of 16 on flights between Amsterdam and Curaçao.

Scoot Airlines has its own ‘Scoot-in-Silence’ section which is is a child-free zone for those 12 and under in the forward economy cabin of Scoot’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

And AirAsia X has a “Quiet Zone” on certain long-haul flights which is a, child-free area for passengers aged 12 – usually this area is in the first seven rows of economy class.

IndiGo is another airline that has under-12-free zones.

For more, here’s a new high-speed train that will connect two European capitals in just three hours.

Plus, take a look inside UK’s new £2bn high speed trains with underseat luggage storage and the ‘most comfortable seats ever’.