Kildare commuters fainting on overcrowded trains to Dublin
Photo for illustrative purposes only
COMMUTERS from Kildare are fainting on trains to Dublin as a result of chronic overcrowding, raising major health and safety concerns for Irish Rail and its customers.
Kildare South TD Mark Wall says he has been contacted by hundreds of people who are using the commuter services, from towns such as Athy, Newbridge, Kildare Town and Monasterevin. “Overcrowding on Irish Rail services along the key train lines serving commuters in the county is now presenting a serious health and safety risk,” he said.
“These towns in Kildare seem to be the worst impacted, with many constituents highlighting that they are packed in like sardines on these trains. I have heard from hundreds of people from Kildare train stations, and they have highlighted a number of serious incidents such as people fainting because of how overcrowded these trains have become.”
Deputy Wall has called for additional carriages for Kildare towns to tackle the ongoing problem on Irish Rail services.
Another problem highlighted by Newbridge woman Jennifer Caffrey, who leads the Sustainable Mobility South Kildare group, is people pushing bikes onto overcrowded trains and then “getting aggressive” when there isn’t enough room.
She told the that she has had to raise her voice to ask people to move so that elderly people can sit in priority seats.
Jennifer is calling for improved communication from Irish Rail, as well as enforcement of its own rules, especially when it comes to telling people to move and to give seats to people in need. She also believes that bikes should not be allowed on overcrowded trains.
Jennifer described the overcrowding on Irish Rail services as “chronic” and pointed to specific issues such as there being no extra stock for when a carriage needs to be cleaned or fixed, leaving trains short a carriage.
Deputy Wall highlighted the personal experiences of two commuters who had been in touch with him.
“On Tuesday, the train from Kildare to Heuston was so overcrowded I began to overheat,” said student Aoibhe, who was commuting to Technological University Dublin. “Due to the mass amounts of people on the train, I was unable to remove any layers I had on or to get water, causing me to faint on the train.
“Thankfully, the people around me were kind enough to help me; however, it’s unfair to expect this would be the case every time this problem arose.
“Alongside this, the Luas is constantly overcrowded, forcing me to walk to college when I get off the train. This was no different on Tuesday. After I fainted, I was forced to walk 25 minutes to my college not only because it was a necessity due to the Luas being overcrowded but also because I feared if I even got onto the Luas while it was overcrowded that the same problem would arise again.”
Henry, a student travelling from Newbridge to Griffith College in Dublin, contacted deputy Wall to say: “As I am writing this, a gentleman on the 6.55am train from Newbridge to Grand Canal Dock has fainted. He was standing for quite some time before it happened. Fortunately, there were some nurses on the train who did not hesitate to step in.
“I am fortunate in some respects insofar as I get on the train in Newbridge as the first stop, but even after just one stop, in Naas, the train is completely full.”
Deputy Wall called on the minister for transport and the National Transport Authority to ensure that additional carriages are delivered along the key train routes serving Kildare South. “There is huge demand in our commuter towns for further investment for more carriages and increased frequency. Government cannot expect to hike fares without the public seeing the necessary investment in services.
“We need more carriages, we need more trains, we need more affordable public transport now.”
