French passenger slapped with Rs58,000 fine for using speakerphone in train station
WeirdNews
French passenger slapped with Rs58,000 fine for using speakerphone in train station
(Web Desk) - A passenger on the French rail network SNCF has revealed that he received a €200 (Rs58,000) fine for using his phone on loud speaker within a train station.
The passenger, named only as David, told French TV channel BFM that he was talking to his sister while waiting at Nantes station when the SNCF staff member told him to switch his phone's loud speaker off, or risk being fined.
He said he took the warning as just a joke. He started arguing and was served €150 fine, which has been increased to €200 because he did not pay it immediately. David says he intends to hire a lawyer to contest the fine.
SNCF confirmed the fine, although its version said that David had been in a waiting room of the station.
A company spokesman told Le Parisien that he was issued with the fine for disturbing other passengers, saying: "If he had played music at a high volume, it would have been the same thing."
Although it is unusual to be fined for using a phone in the station, passengers on an SNCF train are asked to switch their phone to either silent or vibrate mode while on board.
If you want to make a call while on the train, you are asked to go into the vestibule (the space between carriages) or the bar carriage, in order to avoid disturbing other passengers.
