No boozing on certain trains to the West

Pawwed Rig

If a group are drinking on board one of these trains what exactly will be done about it?

3DataModem

Purple Mountain wrote: »

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.rte.ie/amp/1001158/

IE has banned the carriage on and purchase of alcohol on certain trains to Galway and Westport due to antisocial behaviour by a minority of people of these routes.
They claim it's down to large groups on board at carts in times.
I'm assuming it's stag and hen parties.
Is this a step too far in a nanny state or justified when the majority of other passengers are inflicted with noise and general shenanigans of a drunken group?
Personally I think no one should be allowed bring alcohol on board (no different to a plane) and that if you purchase alcohol on board,.there should be a designated area like the dining car to drink it and for over 18s only.

I agree with the designated area, but it does seem to have been a pretty big problem a few times.

Spanish Eyes

Now that people know alcohol will not be sold on board the train, they will bring it in their luggage.

I suppose there will be checks of everyone's baggage before boarding the train so?

This is just lip service and will not solve anything if there is no one on board to monitor anti social behaviour and a private stash of booze will it really?

elperello

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

If a group are drinking on board one of these trains what exactly will be done about it?

Probably very little.
Other passengers will blame the drink not the louts and so it goes.
It's all part of our national condition.

Spanish Eyes

I often think that Irish drinkers really believe they are entertainment almighty for everyone else sharing their space.

They are not in general, except for themselves and their group.

Ah here, Irish Rail is a monopoly and they will not do anything really to stop this except lose revenue from their drink sales. That is just ridiculous.

Big announcement, no drink will be served on Irish Rail on the following trains.... Great, get the stash in yer bag so!

This is Ireland.

Mulbert

elperello wrote: »

Probably very little.
Other passengers will blame the drink not the louts and so it goes.
It's all part of our national condition.

Your right there, people will blame Irish Rail, the government etc not the clowns "on the beer" for the weekend.

I say off you go on the beer. But don't be bothering me going home.

Then you meet the same dick heads going home on Sunday twice as pissed. Jaysus!

Mulbert

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

I often think that Irish drinkers really believe they are entertainment almighty for everyone else sharing their space.

They are not in general, except for themselves and their group.

Ah here, Irish Rail is a monopoly and they will not do anything really to stop this except lose revenue from their drink sales. That is just ridiculous.

Big announcement, no drink will be served on Irish Rail on the following trains.... Great, get the stash in yer bag so!

This is Ireland.

Irish Rail don't do the catering on trains anymore. They won't lose out.

elperello

There is a certain type that thinks if they raise the volume of their conversation and drink too much it will confer on them the title "character".

Spanish Eyes

Mulbert wrote: »

Your right there, people will blame Irish Rail, the government etc not the clowns "on the beer" for the weekend.

I say off you go on the beer. But don't be bothering me going home.

Then you meet the same dick heads going home on Sunday twice as pissed. Jaysus!

Well in fairness, IR needs to have staff on the train monitoring the situation surely? But they have no one on board a train ever to do this. So it will just continue and people will bring on a personal stash of booze anyway and to hell with the other passengers.

I really cannot see how not selling alcohol on a train will stop people drinking and messing if there is no monitoring of the situation at all. And I do think that passengers who want a relatively quiet journey should be looked after.

Of course I am thinking the impossible here!

Spanish Eyes

Mulbert wrote: »

Irish Rail don't do the catering on trains anymore. They won't lose out.

Thanks for the information, but IR still have a duty of care to their customers who want to get from A to B without having to listen to the Fields of Athenry or whatever the song du jour happens to be from drunken numpties causing havoc.

On another note, why did Barry Kenny say that alcohol will not be served on certain trains so? I would hazard that the catering companies will not be best pleased at this decision. It is not their fault that IR do not monitor the train carriages for messers is it?

Lip service only IMV.

Smegging hell

Alcohol has been banned from the Galway to Dublin train at 1pm on Sundays for quite a while, because stag parties were travelling back to Dublin completely locked. This is just extending that to a few more trains.

elperello

Smegging hell wrote: »

Alcohol has been banned from the Galway to Dublin train at 1pm on Sundays for quite a while, because stag parties were travelling back to Dublin completely locked. This is just extending that to a few more trains.

Announcement as train pulls out of Ceannt Station

"One peep of the Fields Of Athenry out of ye and ye will be visiting them."

Spanish Eyes

Smegging hell wrote: »

Alcohol has been banned from the Galway to Dublin train at 1pm on Sundays for quite a while, because stag parties were travelling back to Dublin completely locked. This is just extending that to a few more trains.

Did it work out and keep the peace though? Maybe it did on the return when everyone is hungover and wrecked. What about the journey TO Galway :pac:

Mulbert

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Well in fairness, IR needs to have staff on the train monitoring the situation surely? But they have no one on board a train ever to do this. So it will just continue and people will bring on a personal stash of booze anyway and to hell with the other passengers.

I really cannot see how not selling alcohol on a train will stop people drinking and messing if there is no monitoring of the situation at all. And I do think that passengers who want a relatively quiet journey should be looked after.

Of course I am thinking the impossible here!

Irish Rail do have staff on trains on Fridays and Sunday for this exact purpose on the Waterford line. And it has worked to an extent.

Spanish Eyes

Mulbert wrote: »

Irish Rail do have staff on trains on Fridays and Sunday for this exact purpose on the Waterford line. And it has worked to an extent.

OK but to an extent is not good enough, and what about all other lines?

There should be at least two monitors on all inter city trains at all times at a minimum surely, with instant access to the nearest Garda Station on their Smart phones/walkie talkies etc.

Anyway, I am not having a go, just a regular train traveller with my elderly disabled mother. The amount of times the toilets were disgusting/doors not opening etc. was unreal. But there was no one available to assist for a long wait, and it is degrading really. But there we are.

Mulbert

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

OK but to an extent is not good enough, and what about all other lines?

There should be at least two monitors on all inter city trains at all times at a minimum surely, with instant access to the nearest Garda Station on their Smart phones/walkie talkies etc.

Anyway, I am not having a go, just a regular train traveller with my elderly disabled mother. The amount of times the toilets were disgusting/doors not opening etc. was unreal. But there was no one available to assist for a long wait, and it is degrading really. But there we are.

I think u have a beef with Irish Rail for whatever reason, that, or a general hump with society. Hope u get over it. Good luck.

Spanish Eyes

Mulbert wrote: »

I think u have a beef with Irish Rail for whatever reason, that, or a general hump with society. Hope u get over it. Good luck.

Ah come on, I think what I have posted is reasonable.

I think you are an IR employee

Arghus

LOL at all the people suggesting putting guards on every train - in every carriage, I've read a few times, no less!. You do realise that would be a comparatively wasteful spend of money and man hours, when you could just ban the sale of alcohol in the trains in question and have more or less the same result.

Spanish Eyes

Arghus wrote: »

LOL at all the people suggesting putting guards on every train - in every carriage, I've read a few times, no less!. You do realise that would be a comparatively wasteful spend of money and man hours, when you could just ban the sale of alcohol in the trains in question and have more or less the same result.

That will not stop people bringing their own stash on board once they know there will be no sales of drink on the train though!

killanena

killanena wrote: »

Why ban something out right because a minority of people are causing antisocial behaviour. This small group of people would either cause the same hassle if they were not drinking onboard (because they probably had plenty before they got on the train) or would just ignore the rule and drink anyways.

They would say they would remove these people if they broke this rule.
But my question is why not just remove them in the first place before this stupid rule? Only difference this makes is that respectable people who would like to have a drink on their trip now can't.

Its just another little freedom taken from us by an issue that could be solved without doing so..

Grayson wrote: »

How exactly would you remove 20 lads who are locked? You'd have to call the cops and have the train stuck in a station while their being evicted. It's easier just to say no.

I didn't say they WOULD be removed, I said thats what they would say they would do in that situation, which we all know they probably wont, so its just redundant to ban drinking for all when these anti-social few will just do it regardless.

Mulbert

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Ah come on, I think what I have posted is reasonable.

I think you are an IR employee

Do you think Irish Rail should have at least 2 staff to monitor the people boarding trains at places like Thomastown, Athenry, Rathdrum, Ballinasloe, Roscommon, Rosslare Strand, Cahir, Charleville, Longford?

mikemac2

Carsanal wrote: »

Put 1-2 Garda on every carriage going forward.
Don't ban the drinking because the minority cause an issue.
15-20 Gardaí throughout the given trains would sort it.

You make it sound like we have thousands of spare gardai in the country

Irish Rail can pay for their own security

OldMrBrennan83

Grayson wrote: »

How exactly would you remove 20 lads who are locked? You'd have to call the cops and have the train stuck in a station while their being evicted. It's easier just to say no.

Then nobody learns anything and we all just go further down the road of being the drones they want us to be.

I did see a group removed from the train about 15 years ago. The IÉ guy finally decided to ring ahead to the next station where AGS were waiting to remove the drunk morons in question.

But the rest of us endured a good two hours of the obnoxious clowns before the IÉ employee acted. That needs to change and a zero tolerance message needs to go out. If they are consistently forced off the train it will stop.

elperello

Deleted User wrote: »

I did see a group removed from the train about 15 years ago. The IÉ guy finally decided to ring ahead to the next station where AGS were waiting to remove the drunk morons in question.

But the rest of us endured a good two hours of the obnoxious clowns before the IÉ employee acted. That needs to change and a zero tolerance message needs to go out. If they are consistently forced off the train it will stop.

It would only take a short sharp shock campaign of say six months to press home the message that drunken messing on trains is not tolerated.
The louts would get the message that ending up halfway to your destination and having to pay for a taxi to get there is not a good start or end to a fun weekend.
With social media and phone in radio programmes the word would get out quickly.

After the initial period the cost of the exercise would drop.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Deleted User wrote: »

Last time I got a train to the West, specifically to Cathair na Mart, there wasn't even a seat for the £38/€38 which I paid. When I asked an Iarnród Éireann guy about it he said, and I quote, 'The ticket doesn't guarantee a seat'.

In this context, the absence of alcohol/drug of choice wouldn't even register when assessing the service.

If you buy the ticket at the station rather than online, you’re not allocated a seat and you might have to stand. You must not get trains too often if you don’t know this. Would you rather they said that they had sold enough tickets to fill the seats and that you’d need to go on a later train? More tickets sold than there are seats = some people having to stand.

OldMrBrennan83

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

If you buy the ticket at the station rather than online, you’re not allocated a seat and you might have to stand. You must not get trains too often if you don’t know this. Would you rather they said that they had sold enough tickets to fill the seats and that you’d need to go on a later train? More tickets sold than there are seats = some people having to stand.

Even pre booking a specific seat online doesn't guarantee you a seat because the imbeciles are too inept to get a system right.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Patww79 wrote: »

Even pre booking a specific seat online doesn't guarantee you a seat because the imbeciles are too inept to get a system right.

I’ve never had any issues ousting people from my seat. Just ask.

fryup

fryup wrote: »

is it really necessary to serve alcohol on a train in the first place ?

elperello wrote: »

No not really.

It's just a little extra luxury that people in well ordered societies can indulge in without interference.

little extra luxury? surely its not going to kill people to go without drink for a couple of hours,

we're not all like Fr Jack are we?

end of the road

fryup wrote: »

little extra luxury? surely its not going to kill people to go without drink for a couple of hours,

we're not all like Fr Jack are we?

i'd suggest myself that whether it would kill someone or not isn't something that really matters or is relevant. what is relevant and matters are.
1. whether this will have any genuine effect in curtailing the issues.
2. whether alcohol banns are the right and most effective way to deal with said issues.
3. the fact people are being forced to lose out because of others because of the nanny attitudes to alcohol which prevent ireland from becoming an even more responsible nation in relation to alcohol.