Regulatory approaches to rail competitive entries

The paper “Regulatory approaches to rail competitive entries” will be presented at the 2nd Florence Rail Conference (9-10 December, 2021).

ABSTRACT:

There have been a few significant competitive entries in the passenger rail sector in Europe in the last decade. The entries of new private operators in Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Sweden transformed national rail markets. Their entries significantly decreased tariffs, improved services, and stimulated ridership. However, besides a significant impact on the demand side, these entries also have created significant challenges to regulatory authorities. The paper aims to review and compare the approaches to the regulation of open access entries in Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Sweden.

The analysis consists of the following parts: 1) entry restrictions 2) regulatory powers 3) capacity allocation 4) access charges 5) PSO and commercial services 6) fair competition 7) COVID implications. The comparative review highlights the differences in approaches to these new types of railway competition.