Alcohol on trains?!

[frankiesamson]

Can someone tell me why virgin trains in the uk allow people to drink cans of beer & alcohol stinking the carriage out? Am I the only person who finds this disgusting & unnecessary

I never smell it. Unless people are pouring it everywhere I think you may super sensitive to the smell.

@Nettletheelf list them please?

If you're on a Virgin pendolino you would have to literally douse the train in booze to over power the smell from the toilets.

Me and my friends sometimes have some wine or a gin in the train. I have one of the cans of fizzy pinot (classy!) I don't understand how you could possibly be offended by that?

I used to commute to London (from the south coast) in the late 80s and early 90s. The buffet car was more or less a pub - you could buy beer, wine and spirits, plus a bacon sandwich if you wanted one. People used to meet and have their regular tables there every night - some even played cards.

I guess we got the best of it - nowadays all I see on trains are people glued to their devices, everyone in their own little bubble. Can't see how someone having a drink is going to impact anyone else!

All trains allow it don’t they? I find the smell of strong coffee offensive and smelly sandwiches/crisps, but the smell of alcohol is never one I’ve really noticed on a train.
I often get a couple of little bottles of wine or cans of g&t from M&S at st Pancras station before getting on the train. Its never made me rowdy yet!

You're not allowed to drink alcohol on merseyrail trains. Big signs everywhere and the customer service person on board tells you off if you are drinking and tells you to stop.

I remember the smoking carriage in the 1990s - always very sociable in there, albeit smokey. My boyfriend of the time and I used to get a 4 pack of Bass for long journeys - happy days!

I am on a long train journey at the moment sitting next to very loud people having an incredibly boring conversation. I cannot read my book because they are so intrusive. A glass of wine now would definitely numb the pain.

I often get a couple of little bottles of wine

For some reason, I misread that as 'a couple of litre bottles of wine* and was

I sometimes have a beer or a g&t if I am on a 3 hour train journey home after a gruelling day doing a site-visit. When I get home I am going to bed. My train journey is my evening and I think it's OK to enjoy a drink and watch something on Netflix (with earphones obviously) and try to make it feel like leisure time not work time.

I agree that people shouldn't get unpleasantly pissed on trains but advocating for them to be entirely dry is unnecessarily puritanical.

No problem with a drink on a train. You can move away from it more easily than when you're on a plane! I was astounded to see a dog on a train, sitting on the seat, and being told by train staff that it is fine. I do have an issue with that.

The seat would be covered in hairs - great! I'm surprised at this, as I've seen people told off for having a dog on the seat. You don't pay extra for a dog so it has no entitlement to use a seat. Mine sits on the floor if I take him on the train.

Yeah the hairs are an issue. But the whole dog thing. Im not a great fan of dogs and I don't know how it would be possible in a busy train to stop one sniffing at / touching other passengers. I'd be really uncomfortable in a double seat with a dog at the feet of the person next to me.

Nettletheelf - please do list them!!

RiverTam "Most people don’t do it, thank goodness."

You've obviously never routinely taken the virgin train between london & manchester then !

Eminybob "Someone having a peaceful quiet drink and not disturbing anyone is fine and normal.

The smell is neither here nor there, there are much worse smells to be encountered on trains IME."

You could also say someone having a peaceful vindaloo curry is neither here nor there. Just because someone opening 100 cans of beer sitting on their own doesn't bother YOU personally, doesn't mean others aren't bothered by it, and likewise just because you think it's peaceful doesn't mean others find it so- likewise with the pungent smell.

Just because there are worse smells does that make it okay? By that argument, I could put you in a sewer & say "it's fine because there are worse smells such as dead corpses". ;)

I could also put my crying child in your ear hole & say "it's fine because there are worse sounds".

Anti social behaviour is only anti social if enough people are bothered by it & it sounds from this thread like I'm not alone.

I love to drink- but on a night out where I'm careful not to bother anyone. This wouldn't translate to a long train journey surrounded by travellers unless I was very inconsiderate of others or unaware of others (both similar problems).

Pink heart "drive everywhere"..

you've obviously never driven between London & Manchester if you think the experience of drivers on the road north of Birmingham are a better option !

Anti social behaviour is only anti social if enough people are bothered by it & it sounds from this thread like I'm not alone

I think more people on this thread have said they’re bothered by the smell of food than alcohol, so by your logic we should ban that?
Also a few people have mentioned they’re bothered by the smell of the toilets... they’ve got to go too.

Ooh I love a drink on the train. Alcohol doesn't stink that much. Old drunks stink but a plastic cup of wine won't stink out a carriage. Takeaway food is much more stinky.

You're being a drama llama- I travelled to Edinburgh recently and it took four hours - loved my few mini wines thank you - 'free' too as I was in first class with hot food choices too
It's perhaps not your preference but suspect you do things that bother others - just get on with it

Are drivers South of Birmingham so much better.

I agree, you sound like a right drama llama.

i live in Northern Ireland and you can't drink on the train here! You'll often see people sneaking a few but I've never smelt it. Bar the person has been drinking for a few days I can't imagine there being much of a strong smell

Having a drink on a train is anti-social behaviour now Get a life!

Out of interest, do you also object to people drinking on planes?

I do lots of trips away on trains with friends or DH and love a drink on the journey. Sometimes the journey is a few hours long, no one objects on a plane!