SAN DIEGO COUNTY -- For many aboard the Coaster train home from San Diego Padres weekend games, the ride is a continuation of the night out, a place for drinking and having fun with friends.

But complaints about rowdy behavior and occasional drunken brawls last month prompted North County Transit District staff to propose an alcohol ban on Coaster trains. Board members rejected the blanket ban after a majority was hesitant to punish riders who imbibe responsibly.

The district's planning committee reconsidered the issue this week and is expected to send a proposal to the board Friday, in advance of its June 18 meeting, NCTD spokesman Tom Kelleher said. That proposal may be a reassertion of the ban or another solution.

No alcohol is sold on board, but passengers may bring alcohol on the Coaster and drink it there. According to district security officials, half the Coaster complaints made during spring and summer months involve the use of alcohol. District officials were unable to provide the precise number of alcohol-related complaints.

After the Arizona Diamondbacks' shutout of the Padres followed by a fireworks show last Friday, the 11:15 p.m. northbound Coaster was representative of the trips that have prompted such complaints, though there were a few key differences.

Friday's train had three sheriff's deputies in addition to the four private security guards usually aboard.

Since mid-May, sheriff's deputies have been riding the trains after weekend Padres games to help maintain order. And Friday's crowd was more subdued than usual, security staff and deputies said.

Still, parts of the train were outrageously loud. In car No. 3, a Bacchanalian din reigned during most of the hourlong trip between the Santa Fe Depot and Oceanside Station. It only subsided after some passengers exited at Encinitas and Carlsbad.

To improve everyone's ride, Coaster security tries to separate the "party cars," from the designated "quiet cars," Kelleher said, directing riders with children or those seeking peace to the first two cars.

The third car's upper level was a party zone, claimed almost exclusively by what looked like high school and college-age riders with plenty of beer. As the train pulled out from San Diego, a uniform "wooooooo," went up. When that died, a gruff male voice rose above the shouting and laughing.

"You're all a bunch of (expletives). You're all a bunch of (expletives)…" the voice intoned.

That voice was soon drowned out by chant about pot smoking that rose up from half the crowd.

Nightclub atmosphere

Throughout the trip, passengers darted or meandered around the car as if they were mingling at a nightclub.

Many of the riders were eager to argue against any proposed alcohol ban on the train, though few wanted to give their names or ages.

Evin Acri, a 21-year-old from Vista, voiced an opinion shared by several riders: allowing alcohol curtails drinking and driving.

"It's really cool and really safe to be able to get a ride and jump on the Coaster," Acri said.

He and five friends sat drank Stone ale from bottles and faced each other around a table. Acri pointed out a young woman in the group designated the sober driver who would drive everyone home from the station.

About 10 minutes into the trip, Deputy Steve Rosall walked through the car. The crowd quieted, and several riders hastily stashed their beers.

Rosall walked the aisle, talking affably to the passengers.

He opened a sliding door and passed to the next car; eyes watched the door behind him for a few beats.

Then the wassailing resumed. A boy in a blue baseball cap plucked three Coors Light cans from deep under a seat. Several girls reached into purses and handed friends cans and bottles.

When a reporter asked the riders about their actions, a small rebellion surged.

"Nobody talk, no names," a red-cheeked girl with long brown hair screamed. "If you give your names, they'll pass the proposition and that will be the end,"

"If you're underage and you're drinking, raise your hand," barked one boy.

"Wooooooooo" yelled a dozen riders who heard him, raising their hands.

Later in the trip, a young man and woman emerged from a single-stall bathroom. Just before stepping off the train in Carlsbad, the man proudly announced to downstairs passengers that he'd had a sexual encounter in the bathroom.

'Never coming back'

It was much quieter in car No. 4, where Kent and Dianne Hughes sat. As Dianne Hughes sipped a Bud Light, the couple explained they were Padres fans who lived a few blocks from the Carlsbad Coaster station. For them, having beers on the train and walking home was a safe way to enjoy the evening.

Kent Hughes said he didn't think a complete ban on alcohol was needed. Instead, he said, transit officials should find a way to control underage drinkers and young binge drinkers who he imagines prompt most passenger complaints.

"Either you have no alcohol, or you walk up and down the aisle asking for ID," Hughes said. "Otherwise, the problem won't stop."

When asked why he did not do just that, Rosall explained that three deputies cannot effectively enforce alcohol laws among a large number of drinkers.

"The minute I come in, it's in their purses, under tables," he said. "You have to pick and choose your battles. To do it adequately, we'd need a lot more deputies and to it would take time," he said, referring to the process of contacting every suspected underage drinker.

The deputies said their presence seemed to have quelled some of the more serious problems. Since they began riding the train to and from weekend home games in mid-May, they have made no arrests and written no citations.

It is unclear if NCTD will continue to employ sheriff's deputies. District leaders are looking at a way to consolidate security services to save money, and the $800,000 sheriff's Rail Enforcement Unit could be eliminated or deeply cut, officials say. A decision is expected in the next few months.

On Friday, Cindy Brown and her friends sat in car No. 1, a designated, "quiet car." But the 37-year-old Rancho Bernardo resident said a group of drunks their 30s and 40s had still bothered them. However, she wasn't sure an alcohol ban would have helped.

"I think it's fine to drink on the train," Brown said. "They weren't drinking anymore, so it wouldn't have affected them."

Joseph Malki, 30, of Escondido, said careful enforcement of nondrinking family cars could curb a lot of the problems.

His friend, Jason Aguilar, 35, agreed. Aguilar said he took his children once, but the adult excesses terrified them.

"My 8 and 11-year-old never wanted to come back," he said.

Call staff writer Sarah Gordon at 760-740-3517.

CORRECTION: NCTD contract price misstated

A story published in Thursday's North County Times misstated the price of North County Transit District's contract with the Sheriff's Department for the four-deputy Rail Enforcement Unit.

NCTD pays the Sheriff's Department about $800,000 annually for the unit.

We apologize.