Following persistent complaints from customers about regular instances of anti-social behaviour connected to excessive alcohol consumption on board the 1pm Sunday service from Galway to Heuston, Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail has made the decision to make it an officially alcohol-free service.
The alcohol ban will come into effect from this Sunday March 2. Any customers boarding the 1pm service in possession of alcohol will have it confiscated and no alcoholic beverages will be sold by catering staff on board. Details of the alcohol ban will be clearly displayed at stations and customers booking online will be notified during the reservation process.
“The vast majority of customers who wish to enjoy an alcoholic beverage on board our services do so without impacting in any way on their fellow passengers, but unfortunately there is a minority that do overindulge, particularly those travelling in large groups such stag and hen parties, who can disrupt others in a negative way,” an Iarnród Éireann spokesperson said.
“There have been high volumes of complaints of such behaviour on this service so we have taken the decision to ban all alcohol from it. It is a measure we take reluctantly, but we must act when our customers are regularly having their journeys disturbed by a minority.”
The company already operates certain alcohol-free services on the Dublin to Galway and the Waterford to Dublin routes.