Travelling by train between Newcastle and Sydney will be a more serene experience from next Monday if you choose to sit in one of the "quiet" carriages being trialled for three months.

Yes, you can find a sanctuary from loud one-sided mobile phone conversations and music blaring from headphones, simply by selecting the first or last carriage on CityRail trains.

But the system won't be policed so you'll have to rely on the goodwill and co-operation of your fellow passengers.

When 1233 ABC Newcastle's Jill Emberson discussed the initiative, listeners were open to the idea but more concerned about bigger problems on the trains such as overcrowding, lack of bag storage, security and dirty toilets.

NSW Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian spoke to Jill while on the train en route from Sydney to the Central Coast.

She says the government is working on the bigger issues, including a major rewrite of the CityRail timetable to introduce more services, but in the meantime wants to make train trips as pleasant as possible.

"This is just a trial of something we think will improve the customer experience, but certainly we don't think it's the only solution or the most important solution about our rail network," the Minister says.

"We know we have to increase sevices, we know we have to reduce overcrowding, but whilst we're doing all that we want to make sure we can make the customer experience as pleasant as possible."

The idea comes from surveys done by the government in which commuters suggested they'd like to try quiet carriages.

"More than two-thirds of customers who catch trains said they'd love the option of a quiet carriage, and we know that it's been done successfully in Queensland, in the UK and the US, so we thought we'd give it a go in NSW as well," the Transport Minister says.

From next Monday, the first and last carriages on most trains will be designated "quiet", but on short four-carriage trains it will be the last carriage only.

"That means no mobile phones, no speaking loudly, no listening to music, and I have to confess I probably wouldn't sit in a quiet carriage myself because I'm always on the phone," Ms Berejiklian told Jill, hopefully not disturbing her fellow passengers while she did the interview.

The government wants CityRail passengers to give feedback on the quiet carriages, which they can do either via the 131 500 transport information line, or the website.