The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is set to propose lifting a ban on alcohol sales on trains at a meeting of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee on Friday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
At the last meeting, the committee under the Public Health Ministry rejected a proposal to allow the sale of alcohol on trains at certain times.
Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin, who chairs the committee, said that the proposal had not been adopted after a study found it could do more harm than good. However, the source said that the SRT is not giving up and plans to resubmit the proposal on Friday.
"The SRT will ask the committee to consider making exemptions for the ban … in train stations or on trains to promote local tourism, particularly for tourist train services," said the source.
Dr Udomsak Sae-Ngow, a researcher at the Centre of Alcohol Studies (CAS), said that a previous opinion poll had found that most people disagreed with lifting the ban on alcohol sales on trains.
The poll, which was conducted in August last year on 3,055 train passengers at 25 train stations across the country, showed that 80% of occasional drinkers and 67% of regular drinkers did not support the proposal.
Their main concerns involved travel safety, public annoyance and the risk of sexual harassment, with 86% of the respondents recalling the rape and murder of a 13-year-old passenger on a train in 2017, according to Dr Udomsak.
He said that incident had resulted in the current ban.
Thirapat Khahawong, coordinator of a network seeking to prevent the negative impacts of alcohol, called on the committee to prioritise public health over the interests of the alcohol industry. He also expressed disappointment with the government for relying on alcohol consumption to stimulate the economy despite its negative effects on society.
Last week, hotels and businesses that sell alcohol called on the government to lift the 2-5pm alcohol sales ban, introduced in 1972 to prevent civil servants from drinking alcohol while working, saying it is outdated.
