MTA Bans Alcohol On Trains For St. Patrick's Weekend

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Call it the Metropolitan Temperance Authority. The MTA will ban alcohol on all Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad trains into New York City for St. Patrick's Weekend, the transit agency announced Thursday.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and ending 5 a.m. Sunday no alcoholic beverages will be allowed in trains or stations, the MTA announced. The alcohol ban is generally enforced each year on the weekend of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade and other big events that involve drinking such as Santacon.

Any alcoholic beverages found by MTA workers will be confiscated, the MTA announced. Punishments for passengers attempting to bring drinks onto the train were not announced by the MTA.

In addition to the alcohol ban, the MTA is adding train service to several lines on the Long Island Railroad and Metro North Railroad to accommodate the the crowds of people trying to get in and out of the city for the parade.

The Long Island Rail Road is adding 38 total trains into and out of Penn Station on Saturday. Of those 38 trains, 14 will service the Babylon and Montauk line, two will service the Long Beach line, six will service the Port Jefferson line, two will service the Port Washington line and 14 will service the Ronkonkoma line.

The Metro North Railroad is adding seven trains into Grand Central in the morning and will have trains staged in Grand Central during the afternoon and evening ready to depart as needed, the MTA announced. Two of the extra train lines will service the Harlem line, two will service the New Haven line and three will service the Hudson line.

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