The MTA expanded its Quiet Car pilot program last week to include all peak hour trains on the Far Rockaway branch in addition to cars already on the Long Beach, Hempstead and West Hempstead lines, but has yet to come to the Main Line of the LIRR system.
The program is an effort to accommodate customers seeking a quiet environment during their commute that is “free of cell-phone conversations, sound from other electronic devices and loud conversations,” according to the MTA website.
“We have seen a very positive response to our initial quiet car pilot on the Far Rockaway Branch,” said LIRR President Helena E. Williams. “As we expand the program to now include rush hour trains to and from Penn Station on the Far Rockaway Branch and new quiet cars on three other LIRR branches to and from Atlantic Terminal, we will closely monitor customer reaction.”
The westernmost car on the train is the quiet car. While the program is voluntary with customers self-enforcing, conductors in designated quiet cars will hand out special “Shh” cards to customers who are non-compliant. Announcements, however, will still be made in these cars.
The LIRR stated it will continue to gauge customer reaction to the pilot program and decide whether to expand it further.
