Overcrowding on Kildare’s trains raised in Dáil
Labour TD for Kildare South, Deputy Mark Wall raised commuters' concerns
Deputy Mark Wall was addressing Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Seán Canney TD on November 10 2026.
Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Wall said he was “glad” to see the Minister present in the House, as he had been raising this issue “for the past number of months”, and had previously engaged with the Minister.
Deputy Wall told the Minister of State that over the past number of weeks, “more and more” commuters are coming to him daily with issues.
Some of the stories recalled by these commuters were “horrific”, he said.
Today, Deputy Wall said, he would like to put more of these stories on the Dáil record.
According to the Labour TD, one commuter said: “I am 20 weeks pregnant and struggling to get a seat, often left standing in the carriages. I have had two episodes now where I have had to get off the train because I felt dizzy and I felt faint due to the claustrophobic and warm nature of the trains.”
The next example stated: “I travelled to Dublin Heuston five days a week. The majority of the time I stand on my way to and from where I begin in Newbridge. Yesterday, I did experience an episode where I felt like collapsing. I was absolutely drained before the working day even began. This is followed by the same experience on the train that I take home.”
Deputy Wall said that these type of occurrences are happening on a daily basis on lines that go through Kildare.
He had questions for the Minister of State, he said, including: “when will see proper health and safety introduced on these lines?” and “...when are going to see new carriages?”
Deputy Wall said: “From all the parliamentary questions that I put down, I am informed that a number of carriages will be freed up in the middle of next year. What we need to see are those carriages coming onto the Waterford line and the lines going through County Kildare because it is an issue with so many commuters at the moment.
“When can we see an early train on the Waterford line so that people can get into work on time? I put on the record here before, and I am going to do it again, that a doctor working in St. James's Hospital who gets the train from hometown from Athy each morning cannot get into work for 8 a.m. That is unacceptable in this day and age and needs to change.”
Deputy Canney, responding, confirmed that Irish Rail is “pleased” to advise that new trains will be introduced in 2027, providing extra capacity on the network.
He said: “To date, 285 new DART carriages have been ordered and Irish Rail has confirmed that the first order of 95 carriages will directly benefit the Drogheda line, with 65 battery electric carriages and the existing DART+ line.
“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 commuter routes. Their deployment will be subject to review with, and the approval of, the NTA, subject to demand and infrastructure capacity at the time.
“This process will be repeated with the introduction of a further 90 battery electric carriages, freeing up existing trains, while the remaining 100 electric carriages will ultimately replace the original DART fleet, which has been in operation since 1984.”