I have noticed that as well. The evening trains from Market Rasen can be unpleasant after the races.
But were they already drunk when they go onboard or drinking along the way?
That is true, but in major city centre stations can be dealt with by not letting people past the ticket line when they're obviously intoxicated. More difficult to do once you're out in the sticks, I admit, but it's also less likely to be a problem there as well.
I agree, and if we could be sure that everyone would behave responsibly then I'd be all for it. Unfortunately...
The issue there is that a lot of ticket lines tend to be unstaffed in the evenings, when people are most likely to be intoxicated. And even if they weren't, staff blocking passengers would put them at serious risk of verbal abuse or worse.
Most major stations also have BTP presence.
As I pointed out above though, the problem with "sometimes bans" is that people don't necessarily know where they stand. For example, what if someone's train is delayed making a connection and they end up having to take the booze-free train rather than the one they intended to? Are they expected to throw away the drinks they brought with them?
The solution therefore would be to scrap "sometimes bans" and allow alcohol to be consumed on all trains at all times.
I agree with the “sometimes bans” on football days. But I’m on a 156 just now, all very quiet. I would enjoy a nice little tipple on my commute home, no risk of me being antisocial.
That's one possible solution. However, there is a problem with some trains so you'd be sacrificing those trains to the drunks.
Blanket bans rarely cause issues as people know, before they even leave home, that they're not going to be allowed to drink. Most of the conflict between staff and passengers happens because people think that they're going to be able to drink and are upset when they are told otherwise.
Bingo.
Blanket ban is already costing Scotrail revenue in travelers picking other operators. Losing ticket sales just because a few miscreants are sometimes causing hassle on a few weekend services is putting the cart before the horse. Not to mention the loss of on service revenue of actually selling alcohol.
That's one of the problems with the "no alcohol after 9pm" rule, the trains before 9pm get more hassle. Not to mention the problem when someone boards a train at say, 8:30pm and starts drinking the tins they brought with them.
Is there any scenario where you would support drinking on Scotrail?
In a "anything's possible" scenario, I would fully support a "no bring-aboard" policy as (a) the prices would mean that people would buy less, as compared to supermarket offers; and (b) catering staff could refuse service to people who were intoxicated, much as bar staff do.
One friend said to me words to the effect of "Let's get the earlier train, you can't drink on that one." I fully accept that this is a sample size of one.
Ah, this old chestnut again...
As other posters have pointed out, unless the drinking culture of this country changes significantly (I'd wager on this not happening anytime soon, at least not in my lifetime), this is going to be a persistent issue, and any attempts at dealing with it on the railways will be seen as either not doing enough, targeting the wrong people or borderline dracionian. There is little to no middle ground here no matter which side you land on. I don't much like it myself, but we are where we are.
Speaking personally - and as someone who doesn't drink alcohol period, on or off the train, this is sure to cop me some flak - the ones I'd personally throw the book at in this respect are the ones who repeatedly cause the most trouble due to being intoxicated (ban them from that operator's trains for a set period of time, a monetary fine, community service etc). How such a system is implemented & enforced without it being ripe for misinterpretation/misuse/abuse (as such systems so often are), I really don't know.
I'm fully aware I'm opening myself up for ridicule and scorn here from both the pro and anti-ban sides (neutrality is always so frustrating in such cases, ain't it?), but hey: it is the Speculative Discussion sub-forum, last I checked.
www.scotsman.com
I'll have to confess in only seeing this from my own perspective. The TM made an important point yesterday regarding the safety of others, particularly women.
Transport minister Jenny Gilruth pledges to tackle women’s safety on trains: 'I know all about it. I have been there'
New transport minister Jenny Gilruth has pledged to tackle the "systemic problem” of women’s safety on Scotland’s railways as she revealed “I know all about it, I have been there”.
In this context I can understand more why there is an ambition to remove drink from trains. There are still far far too many so called men (cretins) out there whose behaviors towards women is disgraceful. A whole 'nother topic, but there we are.
Legally and morally it is. Societal norms see it as less of an issue though.
