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Viral Video Offers Lesson: Mind Your Train Manners

WESTPORT, Conn. – Next time you ride the train, refrain from loud conversations, both in person and on a cell phone — commuters such as Norwalk resident Jonathan Cohen will appreciate it.

"It's rude and disruptive to other passengers," said Cohen, who works in Westport. "I think there are common sense rules people would do well to follow. But more and more people are less concerned about how their behavior disrupts others — it's a pity."

Though not a daily commuter, Cohen said he often witnesses poor train etiquette. A video of a Metro-North rider who creates a scene after being asked by a conductor to not use profanities has recently gone viral. The passenger, who reportedly boarded the New York-bound train in Westport, was talking loudly on her cell phone when she allegedly used profane language.

After first denying she used profanities, the woman tells the conductor she was having a "private conversation" on her phone with a friend.

"Nothing you say on the phone while you're on the train is private — you're in a public place," said Chris, a commuter who did not wish to give his last name.

Chris has been commuting to Westport from the Flatiron District in New York for the past eight months. While he acknowledged that talking on the phone sometimes can't be avoided, he said riders shouldn't carry on full conversations. And if a rider needs a few minutes on the phone, he said they should get up from their seat and talk near the doors.

Riders should also be mindful of making noise by turning off the volume on gaming devices, keeping iPod volume at a level so others can't hear the music from the ear buds, and keeping cell phones ringers on a low volume, Chris added.

"There's nothing like a loud cell phone ringing during your 20-minute nap," said Chris, who starts his weekdays at 5:30 a.m. "I wish there was a way [Metro-North] could kill cell service on trains."

The boisterous Metro-North passenger in the now viral YouTube video has been unofficially identified as Hermon Raju. Since the video was posted, personal social media accounts in that name have been set up on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

But whoever she is, Cohen said he believes the conductor was 100 percent in the right in asking her not to curse.

"This falls way short of the free speech argument," Cohen said. "There's a difference between regulating political and religious speech and regulating a conversation when someone is talking loudly and disrupting everyone."

Are there certain rules you think people should follow while in a public area, such as a train? What are your biggest train pet peeves? Please share with us below.

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