Long Island Rail Road banning alcohol during SantaCon bar crawl in Manhattan

The Long Island Rail Road will seek to curb intoxicated Santas this weekend by prohibiting alcohol on trains during the Manhattan SantaCon bar crawl.

Alcohol will be banned for 32 hours, from 4 a.m. Saturday through noon Sunday. The booze ban has become an annual restriction for the LIRR and Metro-North Railroad during the weekend in which Kris Kringles travel between Long Island and New York City to join festivities involving bars and clubs in Manhattan.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is also banning alcohol consumption at train stations.

"Our top priority is ensuring that Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road riders can celebrate safely," MTA Police Chief John Mueller said in a statement. "The holiday season is a wonderful time of year, and we want everyone to get to their destination smoothly and on time while enjoying the festivities."

MTA police will increase patrols at Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal and Grand Central Madison. Police will confiscate any alcohol found on trains or at train stations and ticket violators, MTA officials said.

The bar crawl, which organizers say raises money for charity, starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at Broadway and West 40th Street in Manhattan. Organizers said that they have previously raised $900,000 for charity in the past decade.

Participants are directed to wear Santa costumes and spread joy, and are discouraged from fighting, public urination and leaving behind trash, according to the official SantaCon website.

"Should you find yourself in conflict with a drunken Santa, walk away," the website says. NYPD officers are scheduled at every stop. Organizers warned about open containers of alcohol leading to arrests.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.