WATCH: Laois commuters ‘packed like sardines’ on trains
Overcrowding on trains serving Laois is causing significant safety concerns, a TD has warned.
The Railway Safety Bill 2026 was introduced in the Dáil last week. This bill is aimed at strengthening Ireland’s safety laws on trains, primarily in relation to how incidents are investigated.
Kildare South TD Mark Wall said he welcomed the bill, but argued more needs to be done to stop incidents from happening on trains.
He highlighted overcrowding as a major risk factor when it comes to safety onboard commuter trains, particularly on Portlaoise, Waterford, and Limerick lines.
Deputy Wall said hundreds of people have contacted him recently about this overcrowding on trains where people are “packed in like sardines.”
He told the Dáil: “The Bill is about rail safety. It is about addressing crashes and injuries after they happen. I am putting it to the Minister that we have to deal with these situations before accidents happen, and I ask that the Bill in its entirety set out to address this and the overcrowding for commuters along the three lines I mentioned because it could come too late and nobody in this House wants such a thing to happen.”
Laois commuters are facing significant problems with trains, as well as dealing with overcrowding onboard trains, they will also soon face a 15% hike in rail costs which will take effect in January.
On Tuesday, commuters in Portlaoise and Portarlington were faced with huge delays of up to 2 hours for their trains as a signalling issue at Hazelhatch caused widespread disruption to railway lines.