Overview
- The Deutsche Bahn extended its alcohol ban on Tuesday, May 26, to the main stations in Bonn, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Dortmund and Münster, adding to Cologne where the rule began in April.
- The rule forbids drinking and carrying open alcoholic containers inside the station building, on access ways and on platforms.
- Exceptions include sealed alcoholic drinks carried home after purchase, alcohol served and consumed in station restaurants, and alcohol consumed on trains under existing rules.
- Implementation starts with information by DB staff, posters and loudspeaker announcements while the Bundespolizei conducted end‑of‑May spot checks; violations lead first to a place‑of‑stay order and can escalate to house bans for repeat offenders.
- DB says the step responds to repeated complaints from passengers and staff and follows a wider pattern of station bans nationwide, but the measure leaves forecourts outside DB’s house rules and may shift drinking and enforcement demands to those public spaces.