Kildare Commuters Face Packed Trains During Peak Hours As Fleet Capacity Slashed Until October

Friday, 25 April 2025 11:49

By Martin Osborne

Irish Rail says the cuts are temporary and necessary to carry out fleet upgrades ahead of a service boost in the autumn.

Commuters travelling from Newbridge and Maynooth are facing packed trains as Irish Rail reduces capacity on key routes until October for maintenance works.

Morning services like the 6.58am Newbridge to Grand Canal Dock and 7.12am Maynooth to Connolly will now run with just three or four carriages - down from six or more - leaving many passengers standing during peak hours.

Evening rush-hour trains are also affected, with the 5.51pm and 6.22pm departures from Connolly to Maynooth now operating at half capacity.

Irish Rail says the cuts are temporary and necessary to carry out fleet upgrades ahead of a service boost in the autumn.

More from Local News

Survivors’ Stories And Counselling Gave Kildare Woman Maeve Leahy Strength To Speak Out About Abuse

Audio

Thomas Howard, the 79-year-old former GAA referee from Old Kilcullen, was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison at Tullamore Circuit Court.
€34.5m Boost Backs Quest To Study Memory Loss And Build 3-D Biodegradable Spinal Supports

Other funded work includes discovering new yeast species in Irish ecosystems, and studying how early-life memories are lost and how this process differs in autism and between sexes, to potentially "reverse" memory loss.
Newbridge Library To Relocate Next Month Ahead Of 2026 Rebuild

Because the project will take place on the existing library site, Newbridge Community Library will temporarily close on Thursday 11 December at 8pm to allow for its relocation to Liffey Lodge, which will serve as its temporary home during the build.
13 New Gardaí For Kildare - But No Increase For Part-Time Maynooth Station

Audio

Maynooth, which is similar in size to Leixlip, still operates only a part-time Garda station and no new Gardai have been allocated to the station under the latest deployment.
Kildare’s Rain Warning Brought Forward To 9am As Remnants Of Storm Claudia Approach Ireland

A Status Orange alert for heavy rain in Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow will be in effect from 12 noon today until 8am tomorrow.
Christmas Gift Caution As E-Scooters Leading Cause Of Child Brain Injuries

Parents are being advised not to buy them for children.
€540k Worth Of Ketamine Seized In Major Kildare Raid

A man in his 20s was arrested.
Former GAA Referee Thomas Howard From Old Kilcullen Jailed For Indecently Assaulting His Niece

He previously appeared before Judge Sinéad McMullen at Tullamore Circuit Court, where the court heard details of the abuse of his niece, Maeve Leahy, during the mid-1980s and 1990s.