The study, released last week by Eurostat, the research group of the European Commission, reports that Irish rail passenger numbers are growing faster than every European country with the exception of Estonia, which enjoyed a 28% rise in passenger numbers.

However, it's not all good news for Irish rail - the survey found that Ireland has the fifthhighest number of passengers per train, which points towards the problem of overcrowding on trains. Ireland has an average of 127 passengers on each train, compared to a European average of 121.

The least train congestion was recorded in Lithuania, which has just 33 passengers per train.

According to the Green Party's transport spokesman Eamon Ryan, the figures show the growing demand for rail transport in Ireland. With increasing traffic congestion on the roads, the figures highlight the need to invest heavily in the rail network, he said.

"There is still a lot of room for improvement, " said Ryan. "It is not uncommon for people to have to stand for long periods of time in carriages due to overcrowding, while travel times have not improved in 25 years. There is no reason why the train should take more than two hours to get from Dublin to Cork."

Ryan says that by taking cars off the road and opening up new areas of the country to public transport, investment in the rail network would have "planning, social and environmental benefits."

A consignment of a dozen new train carriages destined for the Sligo-Dublin line are being shipped to Ireland from Korea. Costing Euro2.1m each, the carriages are the first of 150 new rail carriages earmarked to replace Iarnród Eireann's aging fleet.

The remaining carriages will arrive in Ireland between 2008 and 2009, at a total cost of Euro322m. It is hoped the new carriages will help ease traffic congestion around Dublin.