Brussels, 31/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The reworking of the draft rail legislation was voted through by a comfortable majority (35 to 6 with 1 abstention) in second reading by MEPs on the European Parliament's transport and tourism committee on Thursday 31 May. Rapporteur Debora Serrachiani (S&D, Italy) now has enough support to back the EP's desires in talks with the Council of Ministers to ensure an open European rail market. They include hiving off rail companies from infrastructure companies, charging for access to services and railtrack, contracts for at least five years, quicker introduction of independent rail regulators by the member dtates (along with an EU rail regulator in the long run). The general aim is to introduce a level and open playing field to develop a genuine European railway area. The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) reacted by saying that the compromise on the financing of rail by various levels of prices for signalling (higher prices apply when operators do not have the right equipment or when railtrack does not match their equipment) does not go far enough. It is expected that the EP-Commission-member states talks will lead to agreement and a vote by the EP plenary in July 2012. (MD/transl.fl)