A FRIDAY alcohol ban is being trialled on an East Coast morning train between Aberdeen and Newcastle after a spate of anti-social behaviour.
Passengers will be forbidden from drinking alcohol on the 9.52am service from Aberdeen from next Friday.
The trial will run for four weeks, from May 10 until May 31, and will only apply to a section of the route running between Aberdeen and Newcastle – a journey of roughly four hours.
The service is popular with stag and hen parties travelling from Scotland to Newcastle for a long weekend, with the same route also used on Friday evenings by oil workers travelling home for their two-week shore leave.
A spokesman for East Coast, the main operator on the East Coast mainline that connects Aberdeen and Edinburgh to London King's Cross, said it was taking action after a number of recent incidents where rowdy passengers had caused disruption to other travellers.
The restriction means passengers will not be able to bring alcohol in any form on to the train, or to drink it on board. No alcohol will be sold at the train's cafe-bar, though other hot and cold refreshments will be available as usual.
During the four-week trial period, British Transport Police officers will be patrolling platforms to prevent passengers from boarding the train with beer, wine or other alcoholic drinks.
They will also carry out onboard inspections to make sure alcohol is not being consumed.
East Coast said the trial alcohol ban aimed to "ensure comfortable travel for all".
Peter Williams, East Coast's Commercial and Customer Service Director, said: "We are trialling this for four weeks from next Friday, following discussions with the British Transport Police.
"The trial follows a number of recent instances of anti-social behaviour on this train between Aberdeen and Newcastle.
"Our aim is to ensure that all of our customers can enjoy a more pleasant and comfortable journey.
"It's important that we send a clear and responsible message to all passengers that anti-social behaviour that spoils the journey for everyone won't be tolerated.
"We will carefully review the results at the end of the four-week trial before making any decision on this for the longer term."
The service leaves Aberdeen at 9.52am and passes through Stonehaven, Montrose, Arbroath, Dundee, Leuchars, Kirkcaldy, Inverkeithing, Edinburgh Haymarket and Waverley, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, before reaching Newcastle just before 2pm.
East Coast is emailing passengers who have booked tickets for the Friday service over the next four weeks to inform them about the ban.
Passengers who booked tickets through online retailers such as Trainline and National Rail will also be emailed in advance about the change.
The move comes less than a year after alcohol was banned on Scotrail services between 9pm and 10am, seven days a week, in a bid to drive down drink-related incidents. People who are drunk have also been banned from boarding Scotrail trains during these hours.
The ban was introduced in July of last year.
British Transport Police had dealt with 260 drink-related incidents in the six months leading up to the ban.
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