BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) --Rail passengers delayed on cross-border journeys should be compensated along the same lines as airline passengers, said the European Commission, as part of a broad plan to liberalize the sector.
EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio said voluntary passenger rights agreements did not work, launching a proposal that was immediately slammed by the rail industry.
International rail transport had to be opened up -- "these companies are hundreds of years old and they have to be brought into line with the new market demand," she told a news conference.
"Losses are not incurred because railways are biblically cursed...it's because they're poorly managed."
If a passenger on a two-hour cross-border train journey was delayed for more than an hour, the client would be entitled to full compensation of the ticket price under the draft bill.
The proposals also include a law on how freight rail operators should compensate customers for delays or damaged goods and a license for European train drivers.
The Community of European Railways (CER) gave the draft bill a lukewarm reaction.
"Creating a uniform, EU-wide legislative approach to define quality could create an extra administrative burden on the rail system, further threatening the competitiveness of rail," said CER chairman Giancarlo Cimoli in a statement.
But de Palacio was resolute in the need for change in the freight sector where half of all trains are late.
"Europe needs a modern, dynamic and competitive railway system," de Palacio said. "It's not just technical innovation but proper management."
The Commission plans to compensate customers of rail freight companies at a level of 75 euros per kg of gross mass damaged or lost. A delay would incur compensation worth at least five percent and at most 25 percent of the transport price.
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