Are mobile phone users a menace on trains?

WHAT a pity Lord Winston didn’t have the courage to challenge directly the ignorant woman who was speaking loudly on her mobile without any consideration for other train passengers (Mail). I use my mobile for emergencies only — and if I ever get a call, I move away from other people so I can have a private conversation. VERNON SMITH, Lincoln. INSTEAD of posting photos of the loud mobile phone user, Lord Winston should have uploaded an audio recording of the noise pollution. F. HARVEY, Bristol. I CAN better Lord Winston’s train experience. I sat near a woman who held her phone in front of her. Other passengers could hear both sides of the conversation. I made it obvious that I was listening, which soon put her off. MIKE GREEN, Newcastle. I DON’T agree it is rude to talk on a mobile phone — how is it any different to people talking face-toface? Yes, loud voices are jarring, but even worse on a train journey are the people who get drunk and abuse other passengers; those who place their bag on the seat next to them to discourage anyone else from sitting down; and teenagers who put their feet on the opposite seat.

Name and address supplied. IF ANYONE made a loud mobile phone call next to me on a train, I’d drown them out by singing Rule Britannia at the top of my voice. C. S. H. LAWRENCE, Braintree, Essex. IF TWO people chat side by side on a bus or train, it doesn’t invoke the same fury from other passengers as a mobile phone call. Is it because we are frustrated that only one side of the conversation can be heard? SUE ALLSTACK, Skipton, N. Yorks.