The evening commute is about to feel a whole lot longer. Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member Mitchell H. Pally is pressing to ban alcohol from the Metro-North and Long Island Railroads. Unlike dry NJ Transit, the riders of these lines currently enjoy an after-work cocktail or, heck, a morning nip while aboard. Passengers can purchase a drink from vendors who sell beer and wine on train platforms. The LIRR also sells alcohol on some trains, generating $350,000 in annual revenue. But on Wednesday, the MTA board decided to create a task force to examine the issue and report back in early spring. Pally’s proposal comes on the heels of several recent train station accidents in which commuters have fallen into the gap between the train and the platform. This past August, Minnesota teen Natalie Smead was killed when she fell between the platform and a LIRR train. The report issued blamed her blood alcohol level, but her family filed suit against the railroad. The family’s lawyer, Robert Sullivan, blames the train for selling alcohol in the first place and for having an 8-inch gap, which he maintained was actually 13 inches. Not to mention the purported fact that the train doors closed on Smead several times as she attempted to de-board … that could make it rather difficult even for a sober teenager. Either way, you certainly can’t blame the tired, over-worked, over-21 crowd that just wants to wash away the stress of the day without having to brown-bag its beer.