Set your phone to silent mode (manner mode, as it’s called locally) before boarding, and let calls go to voicemail rather than answering. If you need to communicate, text instead.
If a call is genuinely urgent, step into the space between train cars or wait until you’re off the platform, don’t take it in your seat or standing in a crowded car.
- Priority seating areas often ask you to turn your phone fully off, not just silent — signage near those seats is specific about it, due to (now largely outdated) pacemaker interference concerns; the norm has stuck around regardless.
- Quiet conversation with a seatmate is fine — the rule targets phone calls specifically, not talking in general.