Cell Phone Ban: Metra Adds Quiet Cars

Tired of listening to other people's phone conversations? Annoyed by chatty commuters in the morning? Hate hearing someone else's iPod playlist?  

Metra is putting a stop to all that commotion and adding quiet cars to accommodate commuters who want to travel peacefully. 

That means no cell phones calls, no conversations, and no music blaring from headphones. 

Metra received positive feedback from commuters after a three-month pilot program on the Rock Island line earlier this year. Starting on June 6 Metra will add the quiet cars to the remaining 10 lines. 

Quiet cars will apply to all inbound trains arriving downtown before 9 a.m. and all outbound trains leaving downtown between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.  

All the quiet cars will be designated and clearly marked with decals inside and outside of the car. 

Metra officials are hoping commuters will enforce quiet car rules but conductors will carry small notices they can hand to noisy passengers to encourage them to follow the new rules.