The Fourth Railway Package

The Fourth Railway Package aims to improve Ireland's rail network. In order to ensure a robust regulatory regime for the railway market in Ireland, the EU requires compliance with rules concerning the establishment of a single railway area, and market access.

In particular, rules have been developed to open the markets for domestic and international rail freight and international rail passenger services.

The Fourth Railway Package comprises 6 amending legislative proposals, which can be grouped into 3 main pillars:

• to establish consistent approvals procedures for rail interoperability and safety
• to open domestic passenger markets
• to create better structures and governance for infrastructure managers