Currently, though alcohol can be confiscated and the Garda called if a passenger behaves badly, it is not illegal to drink alcohol on board a train in the Republic.

However, Dr Mark Gleeson, a spokesman for the voluntary lobby group Rail Users Ireland, has called for it to made against the law for passengers to open alcohol they have brought onto the train themselves.

This would mean it would still be within the law for people to bring on alcohol among their shopping, or to buy a drink on board.

Speaking to the Irish Times, Dr Gleeson recalled an incident he witnessed when a group of young people began drinking on a recent train journey to Belfast from Dublin.

“There was a Japanese woman with an elderly woman and a child sitting in pre-booked seats. They had to move out of their booked seats because of the noise and shouting,” he said.

“The thing that strikes you is that you can go up and approach them but then you’re stuck with them. You’re the guy who tackled them, and you’re all stuck together for the rest of the journey,” added Dr Gleeson.