The 3.24pm and 3.54pm Central to South Coast services are made up of four carriages.

Commuters who catch these trains regularly complain about having to stand up all the way to Sutherland.

Others have resorted to sitting on the stairs or even in the train’s toilet to get a seat.

However, when asked by the Mercury, Transport for NSW declined to supply load data for these two services, stating it does not supply this information on individual trains.

The body will only release train load data for peak hour services.

The latest figures, released in May this year, showed the maximum load in the morning peak was 145 per cent.

READ MORE: Crowded trains get more carriages – for two days

Transport for NSW considers overcrowding to be of serious concern when trains have a load of 135 per cent.

The evening peak was 87 per cent – though the two crowded four-car sets are not part of this measurement.

When asked if there were any safety concerns when a train reaches 135 per cent of capacity, a Transport for NSW spokesman said “we never compromise on safety”.

“We know demand for trains in the Illawarra and across the network is increasing, which is why we monitor each and every service to ensure improvements can be made for customers where possible,” the spokesman said.

“We are currently working to make the best use of infrastructure and rolling stock we have right now.”

The spokesman pointed to the New Intercity Fleet and “significant work to enable more services for the South Coast in the future”.

However he said there was also attention being paid to fixing issues before the fleet hit the South Coast line in 2021.

“We’ll continue to investigate other ways we can deliver more improvements for South Coast customers in the short term,” the spokesman said.