A 4-car 22k is perfect for the 1805 but the problem is that the same train then needs to do either the 0540 or the 0615 from Longford the next morning. 6 is definitely too much and 3 would probably do the trick. This train was 3 cars until they stopped the 1817 and it didn't need making longer at that stage as the 1817 never had more than a few dozen passengers beyond Maynooth.
The sensible way to resolve this mess would be make one or both early trains from Longford express from Maynooth and then they could get away with 3 or 4 car ICRs for that train. That would make the entire operation positive for everyone. Perhaps the sensible time to have made these changes would have been over the summer when the traffic is a bit lighter anyway but I guess the guys in maintenance wanted to take holidays.
It is senseless clattering a lightly train 60 miles from Longford to Maynooth and then having it crush-loaded from Clonsilla into town making it uncomfortable and slow for everyone. They could even do away with having the 1715 going past Maynooth without really bothering very many people and run a 3+3 or 3+4 as the 1815 and run it back up in two halves in the morning.
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