I'm afraid I have to put myself in the "they're not that bad" camp. I agree they can be a bit noisy, and the ride can be a bit bouncy at times, but they do have rock-solid reliability, and there's far worse out there (not that that should be an excuse).
The real problem is that most peak time services are badly overcrowded. I can accept that standing is the norm on peak-time commuter trains. The problem is that in most cities you won't generally have to stand more than 15-20 minutes until the train starts to empty out and you get a seat. On the Northern line trains, you can easily be left standing the best part of an hour to Laytown or Drogheda. I've heard people claim they always have to stand the whole way to Dundalk, which in my experience would seem to be an exageration, but it's not that far off it, and it;s likely to get worse before it gets better. Despite the 2900's problems, if the overcrowding could be sorted out, it would be a lot more comfortable.
The 17:15 train seems to be the worst affected. I think a stop-gap measure would be to have a second train from Connolly either just before or just after it. If it left Connolly at the same time as a Maynooth train, it could use a wasted slot on the Northern line. The only problem is finding a spare set for such a service.
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