diff --git a/base/io.jl b/base/io.jl
index ec855c2a5e17b..1906a7aa40d44 100644
--- a/base/io.jl
+++ b/base/io.jl
@@ -167,24 +167,37 @@ The text is assumed to be encoded in UTF-8.
 readuntil(filename::AbstractString, args...) = open(io->readuntil(io, args...), filename)
 
 """
-    readline(stream::IO=STDIN)
-    readline(filename::AbstractString)
+    readline(stream::IO=STDIN, chomp::Bool=false)
+    readline(filename::AbstractString, chomp::Bool=false)
+
+Read a single line of text including from the given I/O stream or file (defaults to `STDIN`).
+Lines in the input can end in `'\\n'`, `'\\r'`, or `'\\r\\n'`. When reading from a file, the text is
+assumed to be encoded in UTF-8. If `chomp=false` trailing newline character(s) will be included
+in the output (if reached before the end of the input); otherwise newline characters(s)
+are stripped from result.
+"""
+function readline(filename::AbstractString, chomp = false)
+    open(filename) do f
+          readline(f, chomp)
+    end
+end
 
-Read a single line of text, including a trailing newline character (if one is reached before
-the end of the input), from the given I/O stream or file (defaults to `STDIN`).
-When reading from a file, the text is assumed to be encoded in UTF-8.
-"""
-readline(filename::AbstractString) = open(readline, filename)
 
 """
-    readlines(stream::IO)
-    readlines(filename::AbstractString)
+    readlines(stream::IO, chomp::Bool=false)
+    readlines(filename::AbstractString, chomp::Bool=false)
 
 Read all lines of an I/O stream or a file as a vector of strings.
-The text is assumed to be encoded in UTF-8.
-"""
-readlines(filename::AbstractString) = open(readlines, filename)
-
+Lines in the input can end in `'\\n'`, `'\\r'`, or `'\\r\\n'`.
+The text is assumed to be encoded in UTF-8. If `chomp=false`
+trailing newline character(s) will be included in the output;
+otherwise newline characters(s) are stripped from result.
+"""
+function readlines(filename::AbstractString, chomp::Bool=false)
+    open(filename) do f
+          readlines(f, chomp)
+    end
+end
 
 ## byte-order mark, ntoh & hton ##
 
@@ -448,7 +461,29 @@ function readuntil(s::IO, t::AbstractString)
 end
 
 readline() = readline(STDIN)
-readline(s::IO) = readuntil(s, '\n')
+
+function readline(s::IO, chomp::Bool=false)
+    out = UInt8[]
+    while !eof(s)
+        c = read(s, UInt8)
+        if c == 0x0d
+            !chomp && push!(out, c)
+            if !eof(s) && Base.peek(s) == 0x0a
+                c = read(s, UInt8)
+                !chomp && push!(out, c)
+            end
+
+            break
+        elseif c == 0x0a
+            !chomp && push!(out, c)
+            break
+        else
+            push!(out, c)
+        end
+    end
+
+    return String(out)
+end
 
 """
     readchomp(x)
@@ -512,22 +547,28 @@ readstring(filename::AbstractString) = open(readstring, filename)
 
 type EachLine
     stream::IO
+    chomp::Bool
     ondone::Function
-    EachLine(stream) = EachLine(stream, ()->nothing)
-    EachLine(stream, ondone) = new(stream, ondone)
+    EachLine(stream, chomp) = EachLine(stream, chomp, ()->nothing)
+    EachLine(stream, chomp, ondone) = new(stream, chomp, ondone)
 end
 
 """
-    eachline(stream::IO)
-    eachline(filename::AbstractString)
+    eachline(stream::IO,  chomp::Bool=false)
+    eachline(filename::AbstractString,  chomp::Bool=false)
 
 Create an iterable object that will yield each line from an I/O stream or a file.
-The text is assumed to be encoded in UTF-8.
+Lines in the input can end in `'\\n'`, `'\\r'`, or `'\\r\\n'`.
+The text is assumed to be encoded in UTF-8. If `chomp=false`
+trailing newline character(s) will be included in the output;
+otherwise newline characters(s) are stripped from result.
 """
-eachline(stream::IO) = EachLine(stream)
-function eachline(filename::AbstractString)
+eachline(stream::IO, chomp::Bool=false) = EachLine(stream, chomp)
+
+
+function eachline(filename::AbstractString, chomp::Bool=false)
     s = open(filename)
-    EachLine(s, ()->close(s))
+    EachLine(s, chomp, ()->close(s))
 end
 
 start(itr::EachLine) = nothing
@@ -538,10 +579,11 @@ function done(itr::EachLine, nada)
     itr.ondone()
     true
 end
-next(itr::EachLine, nada) = (readline(itr.stream), nothing)
+
+next(itr::EachLine, nada) = (readline(itr.stream, itr.chomp), nothing)
 eltype(::Type{EachLine}) = String
 
-readlines(s=STDIN) = collect(eachline(s))
+readlines(s::IO=STDIN, chomp::Bool=false) = collect(eachline(s, chomp))
 
 iteratorsize(::Type{EachLine}) = SizeUnknown()
 
diff --git a/base/iostream.jl b/base/iostream.jl
index 5899db85c5d29..962427a341ebb 100644
--- a/base/iostream.jl
+++ b/base/iostream.jl
@@ -225,6 +225,10 @@ function readuntil(s::IOStream, delim::UInt8)
     ccall(:jl_readuntil, Array{UInt8,1}, (Ptr{Void}, UInt8), s.ios, delim)
 end
 
+function readline(s::IOStream, chomp::Bool=false)
+    String(ccall(:jl_readline, Array{UInt8,1}, (Ptr{Void}, Cint), s.ios, chomp))
+end
+
 function readbytes_all!(s::IOStream, b::Array{UInt8}, nb)
     olb = lb = length(b)
     nr = 0
diff --git a/base/strings/util.jl b/base/strings/util.jl
index cf6b630191a24..5833b79b57b65 100644
--- a/base/strings/util.jl
+++ b/base/strings/util.jl
@@ -77,18 +77,23 @@ chop(s::AbstractString) = SubString(s, 1, endof(s)-1)
     chomp(s::AbstractString)
 
 Remove a single trailing newline from a string.
+Lines in the input can end in `'\\n'`, `'\\r'`, or `'\\r\\n'`.
 """
 function chomp(s::AbstractString)
     i = endof(s)
-    if (i < 1 || s[i] != '\n') return SubString(s, 1, i) end
+    if (i < 1 || (s[i] != '\n' &&  s[i] != '\r')) return SubString(s, 1, i) end
+    if (s[i] == '\r') return SubString(s, 1, i-1) end
     j = prevind(s,i)
-    if (j < 1 || s[j] != '\r') return SubString(s, 1, i-1) end
+    if (j < 1 || (s[j] != '\r' && s[i] == '\n')) return SubString(s, 1, i-1) end
     return SubString(s, 1, j-1)
 end
+
 function chomp(s::String)
     i = endof(s)
-    if i < 1 || s.data[i] != 0x0a
+    if i < 1 || (s.data[i] != 0x0a && s.data[i] != 0x0d)
         SubString(s, 1, i)
+    elseif s.data[i] == 0x0d
+        SubString(s, 1, i-1)
     elseif i < 2 || s.data[i-1] != 0x0d
         SubString(s, 1, i-1)
     else
@@ -101,6 +106,8 @@ function chomp!(s::String)
     if !isempty(s) && s.data[end] == 0x0a
         n = (endof(s) < 2 || s.data[end-1] != 0x0d) ? 1 : 2
         ccall(:jl_array_del_end, Void, (Any, UInt), s.data, n)
+    elseif s.data[end] == 0x0d
+        ccall(:jl_array_del_end, Void, (Any, UInt), s.data, 1)
     end
     return s
 end
diff --git a/src/support/ios.c b/src/support/ios.c
index 650a8690c0888..dc6048a950c53 100644
--- a/src/support/ios.c
+++ b/src/support/ios.c
@@ -831,6 +831,66 @@ size_t ios_copyuntil(ios_t *to, ios_t *from, char delim)
     return total;
 }
 
+// Copy until '\r', '\n' or '\r\n'
+size_t ios_copyline(ios_t *to, ios_t *from, int chomp)
+{
+    size_t nchomp = 0;
+    size_t total = 0, avail = (size_t)(from->size - from->bpos);
+    size_t ntowrite;
+    while (!ios_eof(from)) {
+        if (avail == 0) {
+            avail = ios_readprep(from, LINE_CHUNK_SIZE);
+            if (avail == 0)
+                break;
+        }
+        size_t written;
+
+        char *r = NULL;
+        char *n = NULL;
+
+        for (size_t i = 0; i < avail; i++){
+            char *p = (char*)from->buf+from->bpos+i;
+            char ch = from->buf[from->bpos+i];
+
+            if (ch == '\n'){
+                n = p;
+                if (chomp) nchomp = 1;
+                ntowrite = n - (from->buf+from->bpos) + 1 - nchomp;
+                break;
+            }
+            if (ch == '\r'){
+                r = p;
+                if (chomp) nchomp = 1;
+                ntowrite = r - (from->buf+from->bpos) + 1 - nchomp;
+                if (i < avail){
+                    char ch2 = from->buf[from->bpos+i+1];
+                    if (ch2 == '\n'){
+                        if (chomp) nchomp = 2;
+                        ntowrite = r - (from->buf+from->bpos) + 2 - nchomp;
+                    }
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (r == NULL && n == NULL) {
+            written = ios_write(to, from->buf+from->bpos, avail);
+            from->bpos += avail;
+            total += written;
+            avail = 0;
+        }
+        else {
+            written = ios_write(to, from->buf+from->bpos, ntowrite);
+            from->bpos += ntowrite + nchomp;
+            total += written;
+            return total;
+        }
+    }
+    from->_eof = 1;
+    return total;
+}
+
+
 static void _ios_init(ios_t *s)
 {
     // put all fields in a sane initial state
diff --git a/src/support/ios.h b/src/support/ios.h
index 6acd52fb01838..f39e48ce81de3 100644
--- a/src/support/ios.h
+++ b/src/support/ios.h
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ JL_DLLEXPORT void ios_set_readonly(ios_t *s);
 JL_DLLEXPORT size_t ios_copy(ios_t *to, ios_t *from, size_t nbytes);
 JL_DLLEXPORT size_t ios_copyall(ios_t *to, ios_t *from);
 JL_DLLEXPORT size_t ios_copyuntil(ios_t *to, ios_t *from, char delim);
+JL_DLLEXPORT size_t ios_copyline(ios_t *to, ios_t *from, int chomp);
 // ensure at least n bytes are buffered if possible. returns # available.
 JL_DLLEXPORT size_t ios_readprep(ios_t *from, size_t n);
 
diff --git a/src/sys.c b/src/sys.c
index 7d685181e628b..902ee82583716 100644
--- a/src/sys.c
+++ b/src/sys.c
@@ -281,6 +281,27 @@ JL_DLLEXPORT jl_value_t *jl_readuntil(ios_t *s, uint8_t delim)
     return (jl_value_t*)a;
 }
 
+JL_DLLEXPORT jl_value_t *jl_readline(ios_t *s, int chomp)
+{
+    jl_array_t *a;
+    a = jl_alloc_array_1d(jl_array_uint8_type, 80);
+    ios_t dest;
+    ios_mem(&dest, 0);
+    ios_setbuf(&dest, (char*)a->data, 80, 0);
+    size_t n = ios_copyline(&dest, s, chomp);
+    if (dest.buf != a->data) {
+        a = jl_take_buffer(&dest);
+    }
+    else {
+#ifdef STORE_ARRAY_LEN
+        a->length = n;
+#endif
+        a->nrows = n;
+        ((char*)a->data)[n] = '\0';
+    }
+    return (jl_value_t*)a;
+}
+
 JL_DLLEXPORT uint64_t jl_ios_get_nbyte_int(ios_t *s, const size_t n)
 {
     assert(n <= 8);
diff --git a/test/iobuffer.jl b/test/iobuffer.jl
index 53b7eb4df806b..4e14feb12768d 100644
--- a/test/iobuffer.jl
+++ b/test/iobuffer.jl
@@ -74,6 +74,20 @@ Base.compact(io)
 @test_throws ArgumentError seek(io,0)
 @test_throws ArgumentError truncate(io,0)
 @test readline(io) == "whipped cream\n"
+@test write(io,"pancakes\r\nwaffles\n\rblueberries\r") > 0
+@test readline(io) == "pancakes\r\n"
+@test readline(io) == "waffles\n"
+@test readline(io) == "\r"
+@test readline(io) == "blueberries\r"
+write(io,"pancakes\r\nwaffles\n\rblueberries\r")
+@test readline(io, true) == "pancakes"
+@test readline(io, true) == "waffles"
+@test readline(io, true) == ""
+@test readline(io, true) == "blueberries"
+write(io,"pancakes\r\nwaffles\n\rblueberries\r")
+@test readlines(io) == String["pancakes\r\n","waffles\n","\r","blueberries\r"]
+write(io,"pancakes\r\nwaffles\n\rblueberries\r")
+@test readlines(io, true) == String["pancakes","waffles","","blueberries"]
 Base.compact(io)
 @test position(io) == 0
 @test ioslength(io) == 0
diff --git a/test/read.jl b/test/read.jl
index d753c8bdd33b2..ab4779ce9b492 100644
--- a/test/read.jl
+++ b/test/read.jl
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ tasks = []
 # Create test file
 filename = joinpath(dir, "file.txt")
 text = "C1,C2\n1,2\na,b\n"
+text2 = "line1\rline2\nline\r\nline4"
 
 # List of IO producers
 l = Vector{Tuple{AbstractString,Function}}()
@@ -44,6 +45,10 @@ s = io(text)
 close(s)
 push!(l, ("IOBuffer", io))
 
+# Readlines
+write(filename, text2)
+readlines(filename) == String["line1\r","line2\n","line\r\n","line4"]
+readlines(filename, true) == String["line1","line2","line","line4"]
 
 function run_test_server(srv, text)
     push!(tasks, @async begin
@@ -243,12 +248,19 @@ for (name, f) in l
         verbose && println("$name readline...")
         @test readline(io()) == readline(IOBuffer(text))
         @test readline(io()) == readline(filename)
+        @test readline(io(), true) == readline(IOBuffer(text), true)
+        @test readline(io(), true) == readline(filename, true)
 
         verbose && println("$name readlines...")
         @test readlines(io()) == readlines(IOBuffer(text))
         @test readlines(io()) == readlines(filename)
+        @test readlines(io(), true) == readlines(IOBuffer(text), true)
+        @test readlines(io(), true) == readlines(filename, true)
+
         @test collect(eachline(io())) == collect(eachline(IOBuffer(text)))
         @test collect(eachline(io())) == collect(eachline(filename))
+        @test collect(eachline(io(), true)) == collect(eachline(IOBuffer(text), true))
+        @test collect(eachline(io(), true)) == collect(eachline(filename, true))
 
         cleanup()
 
diff --git a/test/strings/util.jl b/test/strings/util.jl
index 21072a524bf4c..66d850a640616 100644
--- a/test/strings/util.jl
+++ b/test/strings/util.jl
@@ -213,6 +213,12 @@ end
 @test chop("fooε") == "foo"
 @test isa(chomp("foo"), SubString)
 @test isa(chop("foo"), SubString)
+@test chomp("foo\r\n") == "foo"
+@test chomp("foo\r") == "foo"
+@test chomp("foo\r\r") == "foo\r"
+@test Base.chomp!("foo\r\n") == "foo"
+@test Base.chomp!("foo\r") == "foo"
+@test Base.chomp!("foo\r\r") == "foo\r"
 
 # bytes2hex and hex2bytes
 hex_str = "d7a8fbb307d7809469ca9abcb0082e4f8d5651e46d3cdb762d02d0bf37c9e592"