Chris Christie apologizes for being too loud on Amtrak quiet car

Chris Christie said on Sunday he was sorry for making too much noise in an Amtrak quiet car.

News sites reported that Christie, who got on to the train at the last minute, had been angry over a seating mix-up and had begun to make phone calls – an action against the quiet car rules.

A spokeswoman for the New Jersey governor, Samantha Smith, said he accidentally took a seat in the quiet car while traveling from Washington back to his state on Sunday morning.

Smith said that after breaking “the cardinal rule of the quiet car”, Christie promptly left for the café car. She offered sincere apologies to any train passengers who were offended.

One such passenger told CNN he heard Christie saying “this is frickin’ ridiculous” and “seriously?” over the phone. Another told Gawker he had raised his voice towards two secret service agents travelling with him.

The Republican presidential candidate had appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation earlier in the morning. He attracted controversy during his appearance by criticising the Black Lives Matter movement, which he said was “calling for the murder of police officers”.

Amtrak conductors generally urge passengers to maintain a “library-like atmosphere” in the quiet car. It is not uncommon for conductors to ask noisier passengers to change cars.