My first post here.
The 17:30 train I have noticed a sharp increase in the overcrowding. The impact on this train will get a lot worse quite quickly in my opinion as Portlaoise for example has some very large developments that will open this year. The one I live in has built over 500 houses and apartments and it is still not fully complete. The same builders are building 250 houses right beside the train station which will no doubt have a high proportion of commuters.
As I live in Portlaoise I don't know if the 5.10 train that terminates at Kildare has any more room on it than the 5.30 limerick train but I wonder if it was extended to Portlaoise would it alleviate the seating problem in any significant way?
A quick trawl through the internet on overcrowding on trains seems to point to longer platforms therefore longer trains and updating the trains to ones with more standing room. That man Darling in the UK wants to charge people more for travelling at peak time like the congestion charge in London.
Some countries (mostly ones on a different gauge than us here are doing the double-decked train carriage to alleviate this overcrowding problem but I bet there would be laden weight issues and height problems here in Ireland not to mention the fact that the money has been spent already.
Does anyone know if double-decked trains are impossible here in Ireland or not?
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