GrimShady
Established Member
- Joined
- 13 Dec 2016
- Messages
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Its a common tactic on other forms of transport to increase sales of their own alcoholic drinks.
In my experience drunk people cause the problems, not drinking people. Rather than stopping normal people enjoying a beer they should perhaps concentrate on stopping obviously hammered and coked up idiots from entering the railway, whether they are carrying alcohol or not.
I've heard that many drinking establishments in the US ID everyone who looks under 50, though. It has even been been known for people in their 60s, 70s or even older to get IDd!
Until you can take the latter out of the equation somehow then it makes sense to treat all drinkers as equal. Even if you are having a 'couple of tinnies' then you can still be a nuisance to other passengers. I'm shelling out £25 for Glasgow - Edinburgh returns; the last thing I want is somebody's beery breath, rattling empties and boring anecdotes because, two cans in, they become everybody's friend.
I've known a few people who have taken trains down from Aberdeen. A few oil workers, freshly back on shore, break out the vodka bottles and quickly become unruly. They board the train sober however. Everybody suffers in this scenario.
But here's the thing mate, there were letting people on who were absolutely steaming drunk and already being a nuisance and I got turned away from my ten minute journey to South Parkway because I had cans in my bag. Rules are rules and I left without arguing. Seems daft though.Good evening sir, I cant help noticing you have a couple of cans about your person. You aren't going to drink them on the train are you?
Me? NOoooooooooooooooooooooo. not at all. nope.
Great on you go then! Have a nice evening.
how is that going to work? Dry train as long as you don't look like a wrong un?
Well where do we want these people? Behind the wheel, or on a train? It's public transport. You have to put up with the public, including those members of it you don't like. As long as they're not assaulting people or whatever, let them be. Maybe have a quiet carriage or two.Some trains out of the main cities at 2330 on a Saturday night are literally full of drunks. Like full of, some requiring to be physically loaded on trains by friends. I should imagine some of the theory of dry trains is to try and reduce this sort of thing somewhat, without having police numbers to literally turn these people away on suspicion of being very drunk and removed, it's easier to advertise confiscating alcohol so the message might get over that the operator would rather customers travel in a fit condition.
Well where do we want these people? Behind the wheel, or on a train? It's public transport. You have to put up with the public, including those members of it you don't like. As long as they're not assaulting people or whatever, let them be. Maybe have a quiet carriage or two.
I'm shelling out £25 for Glasgow - Edinburgh returns; the last thing I want is somebody's beery breath, rattling empties and boring
Maybe that's a solution then, encourage staff to do so more regularly, especially if they're passing through anyway to check tickets etc. But failing that, having drunk people on public transport is infinitely safer than the alternative of having drunk people using other methods of transport.I'm getting bored of telling people off for making a racket (e.g. playing music out loud) in quiet coaches. So I'm not sure that would make any difference, particularly as staff seem unwilling to enforce quiet coaches without a complaint, the making of which can be quite awkward.
Hence why First Class is always worth it and never particularly over subscribed on the E&G.
Why so far in advance. Surely they must be able to make it closer to one departure and arrival.As I said, it isn't like airline checked luggage - you have to drop off well in advance and collect well after arrival. So it's useless, basically.
Why so far in advance. Surely they must be able to make it closer to one departure and arrival.
I mean the Victorians ma aged to do it on the railways with luggage and they didn't have 21st century technology to help them!
I can't disagree with your first point. I don't know enough as to whether to agree with your second point.I really don't understand why they can't offer checked luggage in an airline type manner, i.e. drop off up to about 40 minutes before departure, and pick up about 20 minutes after arrival. It's not exactly difficult. It's an issue for those with bicycles, too.
I can only conclude it's because they are a poorly-run, arrogant organisation with a very pronounced Gallic shrug. Very much like the equally nasty Thalys.
Sleasyjet for me.
Something wrong with wanting a nice refreshing ice cold Shandy and asking if it's OK?Why are people so compelled to drink on trains that it warrants splitting it down to this level of detail?
Something wrong with wanting a nice refreshing ice cold Shandy and asking if it's OK?
Well where do we want these people? Behind the wheel, or on a train?
Maybe that's a solution then, encourage staff to do so more regularly, especially if they're passing through anyway to check tickets etc. But failing that, having drunk people on public transport is infinitely safer than the alternative of having drunk people using other methods of transport.
Well where do we want these people? Behind the wheel, or on a train? It's public transport. You have to put up with the public, including those members of it you don't like. As long as they're not assaulting people or whatever, let them be. Maybe have a quiet carriage or two.
The bottom quote seems to answer the top quote. Bylaws.Every TOC in the country has its "vomit comets". The idea of taking booze off sensible, sober individuals is laughable when you have certain trains that you can set your watch by being a dangerous, drunken, zombie apocalypse every single weekend.
Either enforce the bylaws properly and stop people who are hammered from travelling, or just turn a blind eye to everything. I'd rather share a carriage with people having a few cans than a train full of coked up, blind drunk morons who aren't carrying any containers of drink.
I'm getting bored of telling people off for making a racket (e.g. playing music out loud) in quiet coaches. So I'm not sure that would make any difference, particularly as staff seem unwilling to enforce quiet coaches without a complaint, the making of which can be quite awkward.
When Scotrail runs dry trains for sporting events - and I believe certain trains from Aberdeen which are well used by offshore workers coming off of a shift on a rig - they do indeed mean no alcohol whatsoever anywhere on the train. There have been cases of unsuspecting people having fairly expensive bottles of whisky, either received or intended to be given as gifts, confiscated.Anywhere where I have seen trains advertised as "dry", it has always been worded as "consumption of alcohol is not allowed" rather than just having unopened bottles / cans. The idea of banning unopened stuff is just nuts. What if someone had say just done their weekly shop for crying out loud?
I doubt if this is naivete at work - in most cases, the staff will be fully aware of what's going on, and choosing not to make an issue of it.Dry trains are all good and well for everybody when those trying to enforce it are too naiive to bat an eyelid to a wad of people suddenly drinking out of takeaway cups
Couple of years ago I joined a train at Dunbar. 4 guys going to the rugby drank at least 30 cans of Tennants between there and Peterbrough. They were very rowdy, playing loud music, shouting and pissing off everyone else in the carriage. The staff came and took away the empties every hour or so. Boy was I glad to get off at Peterborough! Drunks on trains are a right royal pain in the rear.Afaik they have a different system at Edinburgh Waverley where unopened conceiled alcohol is permitted afaik, with opened alcohol carried loosely banned after 9pm if anyone can clarify? Something like that anyway.
Only some states ID everyone for alcohol (other than the minimum 21 thing which sort-of isn't[1], most alcohol related stuff in the US is a state matter).
[1] Actually, it is, but they forced it through by removing certain sources of national funding from states if they didn't implement it.
The idea of dry trains is to alleviate the likelihood of alcohol related disorder. Somebody who has unopened alcohol in a backpack and is by themselves, is not the type of person dry trains are aimed at. Where do you draw the line? Somebody nips in to M&S on the concourse and buys one of their posh meal deals to treat their other half, and with said meal deal comes a bottle of wine....are they given the benefit of the doubt?
Is this policy going to rule out using the train for shopping trips thereby forcing people to use their car if they want to purchase any alcohol?
Non-drinkers (and @Alanko sounds like one) will never understand the pleasure of a drink.
Drinkers will never understand how intimidating a drunk person can be even if they have no bad intentions.