News 26K views since yesterday

"Packed like a sardine": Ireland's commuters await new carriages

RTÉ's Prime Time documents crowded journeys into Dublin and Galway, while Irish Rail says extra carriages arriving in 2027 will not solve every problem.

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RTÉ News Story of November 7, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of RTÉ News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 26,110 views.

‘Packed like a sardine’: Commuters on Ireland’s overcrowded trains | Prime Time

Things we can learn from the video

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0:17Newbridge commuters travel before sunrise to avoid the worst crowding on services into Dublin.
1:40Jennifer Caffrey describes population pressure along the Kildare line.
3:41Mark Gleeson attributes capacity problems to prolonged underinvestment, with demand also rising outside Dublin.
4:07Passengers on the Athenry-Galway route describe panic attacks and dizziness during crowded journeys.
6:59Irish Rail promises new carriages next year, while distinguishing designed safety capacity from passenger comfort.
9:14The studio debate examines expansion delays, with O'Gorman later challenging the wait to progress DART+ South West.

At Newbridge station in County Kildare, commuters are travelling before sunrise to avoid the worst of the rush. Later trains show why: passengers squeezed into corridors, with little room to move on the journey into Dublin.

"You're pretty much packed like a sardine in the corridors," one commuter tells RTÉ's Prime Time. Conor Wilson's report follows passengers on crowded services, then takes the same question west to the Athenry-Galway route, where travellers describe panic attacks and dizziness during packed journeys.

The report drew roughly 26,000 views since yesterday, making it RTÉ News's most-watched new upload over that period.

Jennifer Caffrey of Sustainable Mobility South Kildare describes population pressure along the Kildare line. Mark Gleeson of Rail Users Ireland argues that prolonged underinvestment has left the network struggling with demand, including outside Dublin.

Irish Rail's Barry Kenny says a significant number of new carriages will enter service in 2027, although they will not resolve every problem. He distinguishes passengers' discomfort from the trains' designed capacity: "They are designed to safely accommodate full loading, and it is a comfort issue."

In the studio, Fran McNulty presses Fianna Fáil transport spokesperson Shane Moynihan on expansion delays. Moynihan says the journeys shown are not experiences he would want anyone to endure and defends the infrastructure delivery pipeline.

Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman challenges the pace of DART+ South West, saying it has already had planning permission for two years, with no judicial reviews preventing it from proceeding.