overloaded cork to dublin train

one of my friends was going on the cork to Dublin train couple of days ago and told me that it was full to the brim ,there was so many people having to stand in the gap between the carriages, people could not get to the toilets let alone move to the next carriage,
ok its Christmas bigger volume of people travelling ,but apparently they have actually removed carriages instead of adding them on
on busses every one is required by law to wear a seatbelt in other words they are required to be in/have a seat ,so why is that not the same for trains ? god help them if the train derails
the same was happening on the way back ,the train was full(the guys at the gates were well aware of this fact) but they were still piling them on so much for health and safety

Sounds like my everyday commute in London!

I paid €175 on way for a train from Frankfurt to Stuttgart last year and had to stand the whole way. At least it's cheaper in Ireland!

They are changing the train configurations alright. Previously the ICRs came in 3 or 6 carriage sets. They are re-arranging them to give them 4 and 5 carriage sets which will allow (in theory anyway!) for more flexibility in matching demand (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and even 9 car trains could be made up). So far I have run into a serious issue once (couldn't actually board a train because it was too crammed - it was a four car set where it used to be a 6-car set - in fairness,due to sporting events on in Dublin, it was far busier than usual) and had a more pleasant journey on one or two services because they ran a 4-car instead of the previous 3-car which had been over-subscribed.
As trains run on dedicated tracks they don't have the same collision risk as a coach journeys (you are not obliged to wear belts on Dublin Bus) - I suspect that is the reason there is no requirement to sit everyone and buckle them in!