How to improve competition within the European rail industry?

Julien Lévêque ()
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Julien Lévêque: RFF - Réseau Ferré de France - Réseau Ferré de France, LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: This paper suggests some ways to improve competition in the European rail industry, where transportation services and infrastructure management have been separated. This study is drawn from a revised analysis of rail natural monopolies, in the light of the new economics of regulation. Results are presented in order to provide an enforceable normative basis for introducing competition. Concerning passenger rail services, the paper focuses on the optimal size of public service franchises and on the efficiency of on-track competition for profitable intercity services. Concerning infrastructure management, the paper indicates which activities should remain operated by a large monopoly and which ones could be open to competition. It is shown that taking into account recent theoretical investigations as well as observations would lead to reconsider some political decisions, in order to favour of an increased welfare.

Keywords: railways; competition; competitive tenders; on-track competition; natural monopoly; network externalities; infrastructure management; chemins de fer; concurrence; concurrence pour le marché; concurrence sur le marché; monopole naturel; externalités de réseau; gestion d'infrastructure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Published in WCTRS, University of California. 11th World Conference on Transport Research - WCTR'07, June 24-28 2007, Berkeley, CA, 2007, Berkeley, United States. 16 p

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00179519

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