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The Privatisation of the UK Railway Industry: An Experiment in Railway Structure

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  • Richard Wellings

Abstract

The British rail network was privatised in the mid- to late 1990s. However, the sector was heavily regulated and not permitted to evolve according to market processes. Indeed, the government imposed a complex and fragmented structure on the industry which ran counter to traditional railway practices. As a consequence, economies of scale and scope were lost, while transaction costs were increased. There was a negative impact on costs and safety. Given the disappointing outcomes, there is a strong case for reforming the sector by facilitating the development of a privately owned and vertically integrated rail system.

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  • Richard Wellings, 2014. "The Privatisation of the UK Railway Industry: An Experiment in Railway Structure," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 255-266, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:34:y:2014:i:2:p:255-266
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dent, Jeremy F., 1991. "Accounting and organizational cultures: A field study of the emergence of a new organizational reality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 705-732.
    2. Michael G. Pollitt & Andrew S. J. Smith, 2002. "The restructuring and privatisation of British Rail: was it really that bad?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 23(4), pages 463-502, December.
    3. Gourvish, Terry, 2002. "British Rail 1974-1997: From Integration to Privatisation," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199250059.
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    2. Herawati Zetha Rahman & Perdana Miraj & Azaria Andreas, 2019. "Exploring Public–Private Partnership Scheme in Operation and Maintenance Stage of Railway Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-13, November.

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