Yes that's true but more often (to modify your words) it's a case of:Lots of the general public just don't simply seem to grasp that if too many people turn up to travel at precisely the same time, there is no way the railway can reasonably accommodate them at that exact moment, even if every train path was used and every train running at full length.
"if too many people turn up to travel at precisely the same time, there is no way the railway can reasonably can provide seats for all of them at that exact moment" Most people understand that but egged on by the media will make that sound like a third-world failure. If they were prohibited from travelling altogether, that could well be described as a third-world attitude to travel especially where it prevented essential journeys to be made.