MERSEYRAIL wants to introduce a total alcohol ban on its trains and stations.
At present, alcohol consumption is only banned at certain times on the network’s five underground stations in the run-up to Christmas.
But now the intention is to extend it to all Merseyrail trains and stations throughout the year.
Should such a move go ahead it is believed Merseyrail would be the first train network outside London to introduce a blanket ban on the consumption of alcohol on its services.
A similar ban, which prohibits the “carrying of open containers of alcohol,” was introduced on public transport in London in 2008 in one of Boris Johnson’s first acts as Mayor of London.
The Merseyrail initiative is part of its continuing crackdown on anti-social behaviour on the network.
It follows on from its earlier pioneering campaign to prosecute people who put their feet on seats, which is enforced by officers from Carlisle Security.
The ban on alcohol would be one of the first changes introduced by Merseyrail’s new managing director Maarten Spaargaren, who took over the running of the network this month.
Mr Spaargaren is the third Dutchman to run Merseyrail, which is a joint Anglo-Dutch venture between Serco and Abellio.
He said: “I want to make the railways a more attractive, safe, pleasant environment to be in and one way of doing that would be to prevent people who are too drunk to travel using the service.
“We think an alcohol ban would give greater protection to passengers and staff at all times of the year.
“The practicalities of enforcing the ban are still being looked into, such as whether it would need a specific by-law or the extension of an old one.”
The ban would only extend to drinking alcohol on the train, not to carrying unopened bottles or cans to drink later.
The Travel Safe campaign is part of a wider drive to make Merseyrail more attractive to non-users, such as motorists.
Before taking up his position with Merseyrail, Mr Spaargaren was commercial director for the Dutch rail operator NS Hispeed, which runs a number of routes both within the Netherlands and across the borders into Germany and Belgium.
His plans for Merseyrail include looking at ways to grow the M To Go retail side of the business and liaising more effectively with Network Rail in a bid to avoid the disruption seen on the network during last winter’s severe weather.
He said: “Merseyrail represents a bigger and broader responsibility than I had before. The beauty of it is that its compact size means it is one of the few companies where you can have an overview of everything, from trains to retail.”
