Further outcry over overcrowding on trains in Kildare

A local representative has vowed to keep raising the issue

By Ciarán Mather Published 13th Oct 2026, 13:00 BST Further outcry over overcrowding on trains in Kildare | FILE PHOTOGRAPH A local representative has vowed to keep raising the issue A local representative has expressed further anger in relation to another instance of overcrowding, which occurred on a train which passed through County Kildare .

It follows after Newbridge -based councillor Chris Pender last week highlighted an instance of overcrowding on a train in Kildare.

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The Leinster Leader asked Irish Rail / Iarnród Éireann for comment in relation to this incident.

And now, Cllr Pender has highlighted another instance of overcrowding on a train passing through Kildare.

Cllr Chris Pender (Social Democrats) | FILE PHOTOGRAPH Taking to social media, he said: “Another morning, another overcrowded train!

“These photos were sent to me this morning by a passenger travelling from Newbridge to [Dublin] Heuston.

“Already packed leaving Newbridge, with passengers squeezed into aisles and doorways, and still another stop at Sallins and Naas to go.”

Overcrowding on a train travelling through Kildare | PHOTOGRAPH CREDIT: CLLR CHRIS PENDER VIA FACEBOOK ‘LACK OF ACTION’

He continued: “Yesterday, it was commuters heading home on the 4.30pm Galway train, which stops in Newbridge, and today it's commuters trying to get to work.

“I've been raising this for years, particularly over the last few months, and I'm getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of action; how much more evidence do Irish Rail and the government need?”

Cllr Pender further said: “People deserve a service they can actually board and travel on safely.

“We need more carriages, more capacity and actual action; enough is enough.”

He concluded by urging his constituents to continue sending in photos of overcrowding on trains in Kildare, and also encouraged them to detail their experiences to him, so that he can ‘keep raising them’.

The Leinster Leader has contacted Irish Rail for comment in relation to Cllr Pender’s latest comments and photographs.

A spokesperson for Irish Rail replied to the Leader’s request for comment with the following statement: “Iarnród Éireann saw record passenger demand in 2025 of over 55 million journeys, a figure that is set to grow further in 2026.

“To address this, we currently operate all available trains on a daily basis, outside of required maintenance cycles to ensure fleet reliability and any repair works which may be taking place.

“We are maximising use of our rolling stock to meet demand and will continue to monitor passenger loadings.”

The spokesperson added: “We recognise that this is creating pressure on our capacity on some services at the busiest times at present.

“While our trains are busy, they are, as is the case with commuting internationally, designed to safely accommodate full loading at our busiest times, though we appreciate this can be uncomfortable.”

However, they also said: “However, we are pleased to advise that new trains will begin entering service in 2027, which will provide extra capacity on our network.

“In total, 285 carriages have already been ordered for the Greater Dublin Area; these will begin entering service from Q2 2027 onwards, with 50 carriages expected to enter service in 2027 and the remainder in 2028 and 2029, and we intend to place subsequent orders of this fleet.

“The first order of 95 carriages will directly benefit the Drogheda line (65 battery-electric carriages) and the existing DART (30 electric carriages); however, this will also allow Intercity and Commuter trains currently operating on the Drogheda line to be used on other routes around the network including on Commuter routes.

“Their deployment will be subject to review with and the approval of the National Transport Authority, subject to demand and infrastructure capacity at the time.”

Moreover, the spokesperson revealed that Irish Rail is working to progress DART+ South-West, and asserted that this will ‘provide the additional capacity to allow further service expansion on Commuter routes to / from Heuston Station and via the Phoenix Park Tunnel’.

The spokesperson concluded: “We appreciate customers wish to see additional capacity as soon as possible; we thank them for their patience and understanding in the meantime, and look forward to adding more capacity and frequency to our services, both through investment in new trains, and through our investment in our network to increase the number of trains we are in a position to operate.”