Government criticised for opting out on rights for rail passengers

THE Government has been slammed for getting Iarnród Éireann a five-year exemption from new EU rules which give passengers compensation for late trains and lost luggage, better rights for disabled passengers and recourse to an independent complaints body.

Lobby group Rail Users Ireland are highly critical of the exemption and said it showed that Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has little regard for the thousands of passengers that rely on trains.

“The Department of Transport has no interest in protecting the rights of passengers – they let Iarnród Éireann do whatever they want,” said Mark Gleeson of Rail Users Ireland.

The state-owned company wasexempted because they pleaded they could not afford to observe the new rules – an excuse Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins described as “pathetic”.

“Anybody like myself that has had to stand on over-crowded and delayed trains from Dublin to Athlone and other parts of the country knows that Iarnród Éireann needs to adopt these standards. It’s plain stupid to let them off the hook,” he said.

The kind of rights they will not have to observe are: full information in public on your rights; 25% of the ticket price refunded in cash if trains are delayed for between one and two hours; 50% compensation for a two-hour or more delay; free meals and refreshments after a 60-minute delay; alternative transport provided; assistance for disabled passengers; Up to €1,285 per piece of luggage lost or damaged; in case of death €21,000 initial payment; independent complaints body.

At the moment Iarnród Éireann compensates 100% the cost of a train ticket for a two-hour delay, but only as a voucher and not in cash.

“It’s getting more difficult to use the voucher as so many of the 130 stations have no facilities anymore and machines are often not working,” said Mr Gleeson.

But the cross-border train service to Belfast cannot be exempted under EU rules, and he hopes that this will force the company to extend the new rules throughout the rest of the country quickly. “You can buy a ticket from anywhere in the country to Belfast, so I don’t understand how they can apply one set of rules to part of the journey and not to the rest,” said Mr Gleeson.

Under the opt-out negotiated by the Government from the EU rules, they can apply the exemption for a total of 15 years, and request a permanent derogation for urban, suburban and regional services. The Department of Transport said it could be for less than five years, however.

In the meantime passengers throughout most of the rest of Europe will be able to avail of the same rights as those travelling by air. Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said the next step will be to protect those travelling by water, bus and coach.