Scotland's transport minister has said she is "pretty relaxed" about ending the booze ban on ScotRail services.
Jenny Gilruth said any relaxation of prohibition on the railway would have to be balanced against wider concerns over public safety.
Transport Scotland was instructed by government to carry out a "a rapid evidence review" when ScotRail returned to public control in April this year. Ministers are determined to make public transport a safer environment for women following years of passenger complaints about harassment from men.
Gilruth, who regularly commutes from her home in Fife to work in Edinburgh, has spoken of her reluctance to use late night services.
"I won't do it again after doing it at Christmas last year," she told The Times. "It was scary. And I'm nearly 40 and quite able to look after myself. And I just think if I was a 15-year-old, how vulnerable I might feel in that circumstance."
Gilruth said that she was "pretty relaxed" about reintroducing alcohol to ScotRail services.
She added: "We cannot say that alcohol consumption on our trains is not related to safety," she said. "It is. The two are interlinked."
Transport bosses originally blamed coronavirus rules for banning booze on ScotRail services in November 2020. The Scottish Conservatives have called the ban "draconian" and called for SNP ministers to be honest with passengers over its purpose. ScotRail is just one of three rail operators outside London with a blanket ban on drinking.
Passenger numbers on the railways plummeted during repeated lockdowns and government ministers are now under pressure to reverse the trend.
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