MEPs have agreed new rules guaranteeing rail passengers compensation if they face delays and the right to take their bicycles on to trains.
All cross-border rail services will also be opened to competition from January 1st, 2010, under a new European directive agreed yesterday.
MEPs voted in favour of the "third railway package" following more than two years of tough negotiations with officials from EU member states.
Under the new rules, passengers on cross-border trains in Europe will be entitled to 25 per cent compensation when they are delayed for an hour or more and 50 per cent compensation when a delay is two hours or more. There should also be easier access to rail transport for people with disabilities, with the directive recommending that companies put in place non-discriminatory access rules for wheelchair users.
Bicycle users should also benefit from a recommendation that bicycles should be welcome on trains, provided they are easy to handle and the rolling stock permits.
Barry Kenny, a spokesman for Iarnród Éireann, said the new measures should not have a major impact on the company because it had already introduced a passenger rights charter that guaranteed similar or higher levels of compensation for its customers.