I do actually drink, alcohol just isn't a big enout part of my personality that I feel personally attacked by a ban on drinking on some trains... I can survive being sober until I get home...
TBH if I've been out for a heavy night in London (which I don't do often, but it happens), a tea, coffee or a soft drink on the way home is a good thing, as it makes me feel less like death the following morning because I at least don't go to bed dehydrated.
I've had a drink on the train home exactly once (that I remember), pushed to do so by a friend, and regretted it the next morning.
As I said, InterCity is different - if you're taking a 4 hour journey you might well want a nice meal (if only) and a glass or two of wine or pint or two of beer. That doesn't cause any issues because people typically aren't already drunk when they board. What again does cause problems is people (for some reason there was in the 90s always such a Scotsman on every Glasgow bound IC, often with some form of musical instrument) who take a crate with them and treat the train as they would the rough pub round the corner from home, and that is incredibly intimidating to a lot of other passengers who have a right to travel without that intimidation.
The odd commuter might also want a beer or a glass of wine on the way home, but we're talking short journeys, they can always have it when they get home instead.
If you work on the railway you enjoy a drink. Nobody cares about when it’s IC correct. Jesus. What does that even mean?!
Essentially there's more case for allowing the consumption of alcohol on trains where it is sold. Those are typically longer distance trains. If it's sold and you can only consume what is sold, you can control its consumption by putting the trolley away or closing the buffet if some passengers are getting a bit over the top and won't calm it down (OK, some people will put vodka in a bottle of Coke, but I reckon few would think to do that). Also, the price will manage how much people have on board as it's pub prices rather than supermarket prices, so the idea of "tanking up" on the train on the way to the pub isn't sensible any more.
I also don't think that statement is likely to be true, anyway. There are plenty of Muslims who work on the railway, and I'm sure most of them don't drink. And lots of people don't drink for lots of reasons, some medical (like my Dad, or me temporarily for the last few weeks), some moral, some (increasingly common in young people) because they just don't like the taste or effect. In a way, to be honest, I prefer the atmosphere in a pub than the actual drink.
Is it really ?
Be that as it may, outside of social science, it seems to be alive and well.
I think it's sort of a thing, in that society is turning more Puritanical and obsesses with protecting individuals against themselves, something which I do not support.
However, with regard to alcohol, it causes great problems
which affect others, and that is good grounds for legislation.