Steam railways against drinks ban

[Steve]

A Gwynedd steam railway company says it will fight any plan by the UK government to ban alcohol on trains.
Alcohol sales account for 20% of the turnover in the buffet car on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways.
The company said fuel price rises had hit profits and the money spent on board trains had become more important.
The Home Office said no decision had been taken after reports that a drinks ban on public transport was proposed as part of a crackdown on binge drinking.

It is claimed the proposal is designed to stop passengers being terrorised by drunken yobs on trains and buses, and would also stop travellers having a drink with meals.
It is not about binge drinking but more about having a small sherry, a liqueur coffee or a glass of beer
Clare Britton, commercial manager
The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, in Porthmadog, serve alcoholic drinks on their regular trains and in their trackside cafe. They also put on special occasion lunches and evening meals, which include a glass of wine.

"Having a drink on our trains is something which enhances the pleasure of the journey," said Clare Britton, the company's commercial manager.

"It is not about binge drinking but more about having a small sherry, a liqueur coffee or a glass of beer whilst enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Snowdonia National Park," she added.

The railway said it would be writing to the Heritage Railway Association.

"There are many preserved railways who serve alcohol from their buffet cars and for whom the income received is a very valuable part of their total revenue. I would ask the government to carefully consider their actions before it moves further with this proposal," Ms Britton said.

At the weekend, responding to press reports, Defence Secretary John Reid said "it is a proposal for discussion".

The Home Office said no decision had been made.

[N POWER]

hi. this drink thing ;ask yourself why the goverment is proposing to bring in laws to banboozing on all forms of transport? its because the public are demanding it,and why not. one of the problems i read not so long ago was where a charter train (of so called ) inthusiists put the whole train at risk of cancellation part way through its iteniary all because of the booze.now while thats only one instance what about the other ones we dont here about too often? the bus driver the taxi driver all being assaulted in fact some severly injured by broken bottles which only minutes before contained that elexir of violence. i,m all in favour of drinking in fact i like the dam stuff a lot but i dont think we should be bringing it onto any sort of transport. mind you there is another side to this argument what responsiblity do transport co. take /have taken to prevent drinking excessive drinking on there bus/coach/plane ect.ect.

[N POWER]

good morning to one and all ,well i suppose its good depending on where you live at this moment in time (1206). here in coventry it,s brickin it down.
anyway i was wondering if anyone out there had experience of putting together a cl.47 kit in .o. gauge by djh the model i am building is D1500/47401
i,ve built the chassis 3 times and still find some thing that should have being
put on before sonething else, this i think is mainly due to a lack of 1 written instructions 2 also to my lack experience in .o. gauge building, i just thought i would ask to see if other people had experiences of a simular type

[pavorossi]

I feel that the government should try not to regulate the presevation movement. What is a good idea on the national network might be harmful for preserved lines. I don't know of a case of drunken behaviour on my local line, but I feel that binge drinking is a major factor in the vandalism that is experienced at several stations

[evening star]

Hello,
I would imagine most cases of trainborne incidences are caused by culprits consuming before boarding, banning sale of drink on board fairly irrelevant.
Preserved rlys do greatly value revenue from refreshments.