Ban on Drinking at All German Stations: Is a "Drunk Passenger Measure" Needed in Japan Too? - Considering the German Railway's Ban on Alcohol

The sight of drinking beer on platforms is about to disappear from German railway stations.

Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state-owned railway company, announced a ban on the consumption of alcoholic beverages at approximately 5,400 stations across the country. The regulations will be gradually changed by October 15, 2026, expanding to stations nationwide.

The ban primarily targets direct drinking within station buildings and on platforms.

However, alcohol will not be completely eliminated from stations. Drinking will still be allowed in restaurants and bars operating within station premises. Purchasing unopened beer or wine to carry in bags or shopping bags will also be permitted.

As for long-distance trains, a complete ban on alcohol is not currently planned. Alcoholic beverages will continue to be sold in onboard bistros, and passengers can consume their own alcohol as long as it does not disturb others.

In other words, the new rules do not uniformly prohibit the possession of alcohol or drinking during train travel. The system is designed to prohibit using station platforms and concourses as places for drinking.

Violators will first be ordered to leave the station. Repeated violations may result in being banned from entering the station.

Already, around 30 major stations in Germany, including Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, and Frankfurt, have implemented drinking bans. Starting September 1, 2026, the ban will also be enforced at Berlin Central Station, Berlin Gesundbrunnen Station, Kiel Station, and Braunschweig Station.

Deutsche Bahn reports that certain effects have been observed at stations where the ban was initially implemented.

However, expanding the ban from major stations in large cities to 5,400 stations nationwide is a different matter. While some support it as "necessary for safety," questions arise such as "Who will enforce it?" and "Will it end with just putting up signs?"

Violence against railway staff triggered the introduction of the system

The ban on drinking is not merely a measure for cleanliness or improving manners.

Deutsche Bahn emphasizes the safety of both staff and users.

In recent years in Germany, incidents of railway staff being subjected to verbal abuse, threats, and assaults at stations and on trains have become severe. Between January and May 2026, 1,630 railway staff were victims of attacks or threats.

Based on reported incidents, there is an average of about 5.5 cases of harm to railway staff per day. During the same period, 4,672 federal police officers working at railway facilities were also victims of resistance, assault, and threats.

Routine tasks such as ticket checks and eviction requests can turn into life-threatening situations for staff.

In February 2026, a conductor was fatally assaulted while dealing with a passenger without a ticket. In July, there was an incident where a railway staff member fell from a moving train during a ticket check involving a man believed to be intoxicated. The details of the latter incident are under investigation, but it heightened the railway company's sense of crisis.

Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla stated that violence increases in places where alcohol is heavily consumed, emphasizing a serious commitment to safety.

Of course, not everyone who drinks alcohol becomes violent.

However, if alcohol impairs judgment, intensifies arguments, and increases the likelihood of not following staff instructions, the railway company's logic is to restrict drinking itself before problematic behavior occurs.

In Hamburg, conflicts and cleaning burdens have decreased

The experience at stations where the ban was initially implemented is cited as a basis for nationwide expansion.

At Hamburg Central Station, alcohol consumption within the station premises has been banned since April 2024.

According to Deutsche Bahn, after the introduction, alcohol-related arguments and conflicts visibly decreased. Travelers' sense of security improved, and the reduction in litter such as empty bottles, cans, and food leftovers eased the burden of cleaning work.

If this evaluation is correct, there is a certain rationality to the ban.

Stations are not places used only by people who enjoy drinking. Commuters, tourists, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those returning home alone at night all use them.

Users cannot easily change stations to avoid intoxicated individuals. Since railways are essential public transportation for daily life, station safety should take precedence over the freedom to drink.

For those who have experienced being surrounded by a drunken group at a station at night, or felt uneasy due to loud voices, bad odors, vomit, or broken bottles, the drinking ban appears to be a welcome measure.

On German social media, there is support with comments like "Alcohol increases aggression," "I agree if it allows children and women to use it safely," and "Stations are not places for drinking parties."

However, it is unclear whether the results obtained at large stations like Hamburg Central Station can be directly applied to stations nationwide.

In large terminals, security personnel and federal police officers can be concentrated. There are many surveillance cameras, making it easier to spot violators.

On the other hand, at small local stations or unmanned stations, there may be no staff to monitor. Even if signs prohibiting drinking are installed, it is difficult to deploy personnel nationwide to enforce them.

"Even smoking bans are not enforced," say social media users

The most prominent concern on social media is not opposition to the drinking ban itself, but doubts about its effectiveness.

In public German discussions, there are numerous posts comparing it to smoking bans at stations.

In German stations, smoking is prohibited outside designated areas. However, users have long complained that even when people smoke on platforms, station staff and security personnel do not intervene.

As a result, reactions such as "If they can't even enforce smoking bans, can they control drinking?" and "Simply declaring strict enforcement is meaningless" have spread.

Some posts even mention seeing security personnel smoking on platforms, reflecting distrust in the railway company's ability to enforce rules.

These reactions are not merely anti-regulation sentiments.

Some users feel that even when they witness aggressive passengers, people playing loud music, fare evasion, smoking, or blocking pathways, on-site staff do not actively intervene.

Even if new bans are created, there is concern that only those quietly drinking a can of beer, who are less likely to argue, will be cautioned, while truly dangerous groups will be ignored. This would inconvenience only those who follow the rules, with little improvement in station safety.

German police officials have also expressed that consistent nationwide enforcement is challenging.

Since the rules are based on station facility management rights, the central role should be played by Deutsche Bahn's security department, not shifting the burden to federal police.

To ensure effectiveness, not only an increase in security personnel but also investments in lighting, surveillance cameras, reporting systems, and possibly video analysis technology are necessary.

The cost of prohibition involves not just installing signs, but also addressing those who do not comply.

What about soccer match days?

In discussions among railway users on social media, there is also concern about operations on days when soccer matches are held.

In Germany, soccer watching is closely linked with beer. Before and after matches, large numbers of supporters wearing team colors use stations and trains simultaneously.

While it may be possible to address a few drinkers on regular days, how far can the rules be applied when hundreds or thousands of supporters with alcohol converge on a station?

Forcibly confiscating alcohol or ordering evictions could lead to large-scale conflicts.

Some posts express a calm opinion: "I agree with the idea, but I don't think it can be implemented on match days."

This highlights a critical issue with the system.

The ban is most needed on days when large groups of people who have been drinking gather. However, those are the days when enforcement is most difficult. If only small groups quietly drinking daily are excluded, while large events are effectively tolerated, the system's fairness is lost.

The confusion of "banned at stations, sold on trains"

Another major point of contention is the consistency of the regulation's scope.

Opening a can of beer on the platform will be prohibited. However, carrying the unopened can in a bag while walking on the platform is allowed.

Drinking on the station concourse is prohibited, but alcohol can be ordered if you enter a restaurant within the station.

Furthermore, on long-distance trains, it may be possible to purchase beer or wine in the onboard bistro. Drinking alcohol brought on board is also generally allowed.

On social media, questions arise such as "If drinking on platforms is dangerous, why sell it on trains?" and "Won't intoxicated people walk through the station after arriving?"

Police officials and some politicians have also expressed that without regulating both stations and trains, it won't be a consistent safety measure.

On the other hand, a complete ban on drinking on trains would significantly change the culture of long-distance travel, dining cars, and tourist trains.

For Deutsche Bahn, alcohol is both a factor that increases the risk of violence and a product sold in trains and restaurants.

The distinction between banning it in free-to-access platforms and allowing it in paid restaurants and trains seems influenced not only by safety reasons but also by ease of management and commercial considerations.

A blanket ban also targets "ordinary users"

Many who are skeptical of the regulation do not condone violence or nuisance behavior.

What they question is the blanket prohibition of drinking itself, not the violent acts.

People who quietly drink a beer on the platform after work, those who sip a little wine while waiting for a train during travel, and those peacefully returning from sports events are treated under the same rules as aggressive drunkards.

The issue is not drinking but causing harm to others after drinking. The argument is that instead of restricting the freedom of many users who do not cause trouble, direct action should be taken against those who engage in dangerous behavior.

This is a point that can be easily understood in Japan.

In Japan, enjoying a bento and beer on Shinkansen or express trains has been accepted as a staple of rail travel. Alcohol is also sold at convenience stores and kiosks within station premises.

At least in the prohibited acts within station facilities published by JR Central, drinking itself is not uniformly banned, but actions that produce loud noises or potentially harm or inconvenience other users are targeted.

In Japanese railway spaces, there is generally a stronger behavioral regulation approach that focuses on "what was done as a result of drinking" rather than "whether one drank alcohol."

The new German system can be seen as a preventive system that restricts actions that could potentially cause problems, arguing that it is too late once problematic behavior occurs.

Behavioral regulation maintains the freedom of users who act with moderation. However, staff must intervene only after the other party is in a dangerous state, increasing the risk of violence.

The preventive approach may reduce the likelihood of trouble occurring. However, it targets even those who are not dangerous, and unfairness may arise depending on how enforcement is carried out.

Is it just about driving the homeless out of stations?

The impact on socially vulnerable people is also a concern regarding the drinking ban.

German stations are not places where only train users gather.

They are well-lit at night, provide shelter from rain and wind, have foot traffic, and offer toilets and shops. Therefore, they also become places where people who have lost their homes or struggle with alcohol or drug dependence stay.

Homeless support groups criticize that the drinking ban does not resolve issues of dependence or poverty.

People evicted from stations may move to surrounding alleys, parks, or residential areas. Even if stations appear cleaner, the problem may simply shift elsewhere.

On social media, there are reactions like "Isn't this essentially a system to drive out the homeless?"

While those who pay to drink in station shops are allowed, those who bring cheap alcohol are excluded. There is concern that the drinking ban will disproportionately apply to low-income individuals or those with dependencies.

Of course, stations should not be used as residences or party venues without limits. It is the railway company's responsibility to maintain an environment where users can move safely.

However, eviction orders alone do not solve social issues.

Without collaboration with municipal welfare departments, medical institutions, dependency support groups, and emergency shelters, the drinking ban risks becoming merely a policy of "moving problems out of sight."

Public space drinking regulations are also starting in Japan

Japan does not have a nationwide uniform drinking ban for railway stations.

However, there is already a movement to regulate street drinking around stations.

A representative example is Tokyo's Shibuya.

In Shibuya Ward, street drinking, littering, and noise during Halloween and New Year's countdown periods have been problematic. Initially, the regulation focused on specific periods, but from October 1, 2024, it expanded to prohibit street drinking in designated areas around Shibuya Station from 6 PM to 5 AM year-round.

There are commonalities between Deutsche Bahn's system and Shibuya Ward's regulation.

Both do not completely ban the sale or possession of alcohol. While allowing drinking in stores and controlled spaces, they restrict drinking in public spaces used by the general public.

However, there are significant differences.

Shibuya's regulation targets areas and nighttime hours where problems are concentrated. Deutsche Bahn's system applies, in principle, uniformly nationwide, including local stations with fewer security issues and daytime hours.

If Japan were to introduce the same system as Germany, consistency with sales would become a major issue.

While selling alcohol at convenience stores and kiosks within ticket gates, from which point is