Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 19:35 28 Mar 2024
* Easter getaways hit by travel disruption
- How do I renew my UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
- Passengers pleaded with knifeman during attack
- Family anger at sentence on fatal crash driver, 19
- Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1992)
MOD Kineton tour, branch line society (*)

Train RunningCancelled
17:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
17:57 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street
18:08 London Paddington to Frome
18:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:23 Reading to Gatwick Airport
19:24 Newbury to Bedwyn
19:33 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
19:35 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
19:55 Bedwyn to Newbury
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
20:16 Frome to Westbury
20:49 Newbury to Bedwyn
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
21:16 Bedwyn to Newbury
21:53 Newbury to Bedwyn
22:25 Bedwyn to Newbury
22:47 Newbury to Bedwyn
Short Run
15:03 London Paddington to Penzance
16:03 London Paddington to Penzance
16:19 Carmarthen to London Paddington
16:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
16:35 London Paddington to Plymouth
16:50 Plymouth to London Paddington
17:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:30 London Paddington to Taunton
17:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury
18:03 London Paddington to Penzance
18:19 Reading to Gatwick Airport
18:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
18:54 Reading to Gatwick Airport
18:59 Gatwick Airport to Reading
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
19:06 London Paddington to Bedwyn
19:13 Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads
19:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
20:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
20:42 Bedwyn to London Paddington
21:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
Delayed
13:59 Cardiff Central to Penzance
16:15 Penzance to London Paddington
Additional 17:17 Exeter St Davids to Penzance
Additional 17:26 Castle Cary to Penzance
19:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:54 Reading to Gatwick Airport
19:59 Gatwick Airport to Reading
23:04 Reading to Bedwyn
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 19:47:27 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[133] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[132] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[53] Return of the BRUTE?
[44] If not HS2 to Manchester, how will traffic be carried?
[41] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[32] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1] 2
  Print  
Author Topic: Scotrail bans alcohol at all stations and trains  (Read 3460 times)
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 9809



View Profile
« on: November 15, 2020, 20:08:23 »

From Twitter

Quote
@ScotRail: From tomorrow, alcohol will be banned in all ScotRail stations and on all of our trains. This is a temporary measure to help ensure physical distancing while you?re travelling with us throughout COVID-19.
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2020, 21:00:15 »

From Twitter

Quote
@ScotRail: From tomorrow, alcohol will be banned in all ScotRail stations and on all of our trains. This is a temporary measure to help ensure physical distancing while you?re travelling with us throughout COVID-19.

Also covered in the News and Star from Carlisle.

Headline is Train operator announces total alcohol ban

Fine print says

Quote
A spokeswoman said: "We want everyone who travels with us to be able to do so in a safe environment.

"As the coronavirus pandemic continues, we want to do everything we can to support the public health measures put in place by the Scottish Government.

"Alcohol will not be allowed in our stations and on our trains, and people showing signs of intoxication will not be permitted to travel.

"We've found people who are extremely drunk, or disorderly, show disregard for covid-19 precautions."

No alcohol can be drunk at any station in Scotland or on board any ScotRail train.

No visible alcohol is allowed, it can only be carried unseen in a bag.

Around the edges ... the suggestion is that this applies at the Network Rail Stations of Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central too ... what about on Avanti, Cross Country and LNER» (London North Eastern Railway - about) trains, what about the case of Lockerbie Station - managed by Scotrail but none of their trains call there ...
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2020, 21:44:12 »

And while we're on changes at Scotrail - from the Lockside Press

Quote
Rural train services are cut by ScotRail

Some train services on the West Highland Line will be suspended next month, ScotRail has confirmed.

The news came after complaints that passengers on commuter trains from Helensburgh Central could not socially distance after the number of carriages was cut.

Now MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) Jackie Baillie has called for U-turns from the train operators, saying passengers rely on these services for essential travel.

The services leaving Oban at 05:20am and Glasgow Queen Street at 4.36pm will be both be suspended when the new timetable takes effect on December 13.

ScotRail says the move is temporary ? but the ?temporary? reduced timetable imposed on the Helensburgh Central line during construction work was made permanent once the work finished.

Passengers using stations at Ardlui, Arrochar & Tarbet and Helensburgh Upper will all be affected ? the morning service being cut is their only way to reach Glasgow before 9am.

First arrival into Glasgow from stations beyond the Glasgow 'burbs will become 11:31 from Mallaig, then 11:58 from Oban (the 08:40 has gone).  A six hour gap in trains the other way - 12:23 and then 18:23 from Glasgow Queen Street (the 16:36 is gone).

This is all so reminiscent of other proposals for cutting already sparse service, and I know only too well the potential knock on effects.  Scotland is a long way from Wiltshire and I am relieved and very grateful to everyone who has been working to avoid our service being trimmed below a usable level for 2021; a huge THANK YOU and with my MRUG» (Melksham Rail User Group - site) hat a commitment to volunteer to help it work .
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
TonyK
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 6435


The artist formerly known as Four Track, Now!


View Profile
« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2020, 22:37:43 »

That's one racial stereotype oot the wendy.
Logged

Now, please!
broadgage
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5398



View Profile
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2020, 20:11:29 »

This policy is in my view ill advised and will detract from the reputation of Scotland as a holiday or tourist destination.
There is an already existing view in some quarters that Scotland has a problem with alcohol. Banning alcohol sale and consumption on all trains will tend to reinforce this view.

I recall a proposal a few years ago to ban ALL use of glasses and glass bottles in ALL licensed premises in Glasgow. The ban was NOT introduced for fear of the adverse publicity and negative effect on tourism.
"Bottle of vintage burgundy with your dinner sir ?" With a requirement that the waiter pour the perhaps costly vintage into plastic glasses, and decline to let the customer handle the bottle.
The message that would have been sent out was considered to be "dont visit Glasgow, it is such a drunken hell hole that restaurant customers are not allowed to handle bottles, presumably for fear that they will hit people with them"

Banning all alcohol on all trains sends out  a similar negative message.

And yes I know that it is meant to be tempory, but restrictions tend to be become permanent. The health lobby and the jobsworths regard drinkning as the new smoking.
Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
bobm
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 9809



View Profile
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2020, 20:44:48 »

There has been a ban on alcohol on some of the Cardiff Valley lines for some time and certainly before this year.  Similarly on the last Saturday service from Weymouth to Bristol.

I think more focussed bans are a better way to go.
Logged
broadgage
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5398



View Profile
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2020, 13:30:44 »

I can see the merit of banning alcohol on certain services with a history of drunken trouble.

However banning all alcohol on all trains sends out a very negative message. I also perceive some risk of mission creep or over interpretation of the rules. For example by refusing passage to those carrying sealed containers of drink as part of their shopping, or for a gift. This has already happened on LUL (London Underground Ltd) services.
Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
broadgage
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5398



View Profile
« Reply #7 on: November 26, 2020, 15:28:17 »

The reputation for excessive drinking in Scotland goes back many years.
I recall as a young child when we first got a TV. The first programme that I watched was news about an exceptional snowfall in Scotland, as it melted this snow was dripping through the defective roofing of tenements onto those within.
TV picture showed drops of water landing on the head of a resident.

As a young child I asked "why does the silly man not move from under the leak ?" My father replied "He is Scottish and probably too drunk to care"
I was only about 5 at the time.
Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
stuving
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7156


View Profile
« Reply #8 on: November 26, 2020, 17:25:17 »


Indeed - and not just among outsiders. Two diary entries by my ancestor Adam Mackie, who had a farm and kept a village shop and inn in Fyvie, Aberdeenshire:

6th January 1823: "My folks who have leave from work on this Christmas day and employs their time in getting drunk."

7th January 1825: "As has been the case this some days past, I am in my shop and busily employed. This day ends Christmas, which my men folks had need of. They travel and drink by turns day and night. Their liberty at this time distresses them much."

It's not clear from his other entries whether many really celebrated for twelve days, or just those for whom any excuse...   Nor what happened on 1st January; but 25th December was a working day and it looks as if old-style Christmas was still being kept for the Christmas revels no longer allowed by the Kirk.
Logged
Bmblbzzz
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4256


View Profile
« Reply #9 on: November 26, 2020, 18:23:09 »

The English hardly have a reputation for sobriety either. Nor the Welsh. Come to that, probably nowhere north of about 50 degrees does.
Logged

Waiting at Pilning for the midnight sleeper to Prague.
stuving
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7156


View Profile
« Reply #10 on: November 26, 2020, 18:47:38 »

The English hardly have a reputation for sobriety either. Nor the Welsh. Come to that, probably nowhere north of about 50 degrees does.

True - but at least for the English, drinking spirits rather than (or - even worse - as well as) beer makes the reputation worse. Maybe that goes back to Gin Alley? So Scots, Finns, ...
Logged
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7746



View Profile
« Reply #11 on: November 27, 2020, 09:43:52 »

I can see the merit of banning alcohol on certain services with a history of drunken trouble.

However banning all alcohol on all trains sends out a very negative message. I also perceive some risk of mission creep or over interpretation of the rules. For example by refusing passage to those carrying sealed containers of drink as part of their shopping, or for a gift. This has already happened on LUL (London Underground Ltd) services.

Can you point me to where it says I can't carry a sealed bottle of wine home amongst my other shopping on the Underground, or to an example of where someone has been stopped from doing so?
Logged
TonyK
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 6435


The artist formerly known as Four Track, Now!


View Profile
« Reply #12 on: November 27, 2020, 10:13:50 »

It's not clear from his other entries whether many really celebrated for twelve days, or just those for whom any excuse...   Nor what happened on 1st January; but 25th December was a working day and it looks as if old-style Christmas was still being kept for the Christmas revels no longer allowed by the Kirk.

I believe that the Kirk's view was that everything is forbidden unless it's compulsory.

The English hardly have a reputation for sobriety either. Nor the Welsh. Come to that, probably nowhere north of about 50 degrees does.

As many as 50 degrees?  You've never had rum punch for breakfast.
Logged

Now, please!
broadgage
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 5398



View Profile
« Reply #13 on: November 27, 2020, 13:45:35 »

I can see the merit of banning alcohol on certain services with a history of drunken trouble.

However banning all alcohol on all trains sends out a very negative message. I also perceive some risk of mission creep or over interpretation of the rules. For example by refusing passage to those carrying sealed containers of drink as part of their shopping, or for a gift. This has already happened on LUL (London Underground Ltd) services.

Can you point me to where it says I can't carry a sealed bottle of wine home amongst my other shopping on the Underground, or to an example of where someone has been stopped from doing so?

No regulation prohibits the carrying of a sealed bottle of wine on the London Underground.
I was twice refused admission to an underground station for carrying sealed containers of alcohol as part of my shopping. On one ocaision, cans of drink could be seen through a partialy transparent shopping bag.
On another journey, my bag was searched "as part of routine crime prevention" and a bottle of spirits found. The BTP (British Transport Police) officer said "You should know that drink is not permitted on LUL" He pointed to a notice that confirmed the prohibition on drinking and the carrying of open containers of alcohol.
I pointed out that I was not drinking, not carrying an open container, but was told "makes no difference because you could open it"  And that the rule is not for debate or argument, NO DRINK.

Others have reported similar experiences.

I wrote to complain and received a standard reply about the powers of the BTP to which everyone is subject.
Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
Surrey 455
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1229


View Profile
« Reply #14 on: November 27, 2020, 19:32:29 »

I was twice refused admission to an underground station for carrying sealed containers of alcohol as part of my shopping. On one ocaision, cans of drink could be seen through a partialy transparent shopping bag.

Does Port come in cans now?  Cheesy
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1] 2
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page