Music without headphones on the train? That’ll cost you in Ireland

Trains sit idle on the platforms at Heuston Station, Dublin.

Trains sit idle on the platforms at Heuston Station, Dublin, during a one day strike by Irish Rail train drivers over pay and conditions. (Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images)

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(NewsNation) — Whether you’ve left your headphones at home or are just a generally unlikeable person, playing audio on the train in Ireland could result in a fine.

Iarnród Éireann, or Irish Rail, the operator of the national railway, is cracking down on impolite behavior such as loud music, vaping or putting your bag or feet on empty chairs.

Irish Rail communications manager Barry Kenny told the Irish online newspaper The Journal that train inspectors “have and will” issue a fine of 100 euros ($116.23) to passengers.

“It’s very much based on what our customers want,” Kenny told The Journal. “When you’re travelling with us, you want to have an enjoyable journey.”

CNN reports the fines are based on existing by-laws, established in 1984, which, among other fine print, prohibit the use of “any gramophone (…) or portable wireless or television apparatus (…) to the annoyance of any other person.”

While many public transit operators in the United States threaten fines for discourteous behavior, such penalties are rarely enforced.

Travel

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