Station alcohol ban goes nationwide after positive start in Frankfurt

Deutsche Bahn’s ban on drinking alcohol now covers every railway station in Germany. In Frankfurt, where the rule has applied at the Hauptbahnhof since May, early experience has been positive, according to hessenschau.

What happened

The ban on drinking alcohol at stations, known in German as the Alkoholkonsumverbot, came into force nationwide on Thursday, hessenschau reports. It now covers all of the roughly 5,700 railway stations in Germany. Deutsche Bahn, the national rail operator, says nobody may drink alcohol inside station buildings or on the platforms. The aim is to make stations safer, including the more than 400 stations in Hessen, the federal state that includes Frankfurt.

Frankfurt had a head start. The ban has applied at the Frankfurter Hauptbahnhof (Frankfurt’s main railway station) since May. Benjamin Schmidt, head of Bahnhofsmanagement Südhessen (Deutsche Bahn’s station management for southern Hessen), told hessenschau that the first experiences there have been positive. He said there is no official assessment yet, but people are drinking less alcohol at the station and there have been clearly fewer disputes, conflicts and aggressive incidents.

According to Deutsche Bahn, stations across Germany that introduced the ban earlier have seen similar results. A spokeswoman for the company told hessenschau that the pilot projects had shown “significantly less rubbish” and that the ban helps to reduce violent crime, conflicts and arguments involving alcohol. She said this also makes travellers feel safer and cuts the amount of cleaning needed.

Shop staff at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof also support the rule. A pharmacy employee told hessenschau that because of the ban, fewer people come into the pharmacy and cause stress. The employee said the atmosphere has become more pleasant and the situation somewhat calmer.

What it means for you

If you use Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof or any other station in Germany, these are the rules as reported by hessenschau:

• No drinking in the station or on the platforms. This covers the station building and all platforms.
• You can still carry alcohol. Closed bottles or cans in your luggage or shopping bags are allowed. At Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, alcohol may only be carried in sealed containers.
• Station bars and restaurants are exempt. The ban does not apply to the gastronomy (food and drink outlets) inside stations, so you can still have a drink there.
• Drinking on trains is still allowed. The ban stops at the train door. Alcohol is still sold in the on-board bistros.

The rule is enforced by DB-Sicherheit, Deutsche Bahn’s own security service. Its staff have been told to act mit Augenmaß, meaning with a sense of proportion. The Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman said that in practice, almost everyone complies once security staff point out the ban.

If you do not stop, there can be consequences. A photo caption in the hessenschau report sums up the rule at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof as “close the bottle, or face a Platzverweis“, which is an order to leave the premises. A more serious step is a Hausverbot, a ban from entering the station. Deutsche Bahn says it does not keep figures on how many people have been ordered to leave or banned because of alcohol, and that a Hausverbot has so far been issued only in rare cases.

In practical terms: if you buy a beer or a bottle of wine at a station shop, keep it closed until you are on the train or have left the station. If you want a drink while you wait, use one of the bars or restaurants inside the station.

What to watch next

Benjamin Schmidt told hessenschau there is no official assessment yet of how the ban has worked at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. Watch for Deutsche Bahn to publish one, now that the rule applies at every station in the country. Deutsche Bahn says it does not keep figures on orders to leave or bans issued because of alcohol, so any future assessment may rely on other measures, such as reported conflicts or the amount of cleaning needed.

Source: hessenschau