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How " efficient " are intercity railway prices and frequencies in Europe? Comparing a corridor in Belgium and in France

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  • Guillaume Monchambert

    (LAET - Laboratoire Aménagement Économie Transports - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2)

  • Stef Proost

    (FEB - Faculty of Economics and Business - KU Leuven - Catholic University of Leuven = Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)

Abstract

This paper studies the efficient pricing of medium-distance passenger rail in Europe. Current fares and frequencies are compared with three alternatives: first-best where road congestion is internalised; second-best where no road tolls are implemented; and third-best where a maximum rail deficit is also imposed. We find that second-best fares depend strongly on the non-internalised road congestion and on the price elasticity of the passengers, complicating the derivation of a national or regional fare structure. Second-best achieves a significant share of the first-best benefits, but adding a budget constraint makes second-best solutions difficult to implement for some corridors.
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Suggested Citation

  • Guillaume Monchambert & Stef Proost, 2018. "How " efficient " are intercity railway prices and frequencies in Europe? Comparing a corridor in Belgium and in France," Working Papers hal-01839933, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01839933
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01839933
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Monchambert, Guillaume, 2020. "Why do (or don’t) people carpool for long distance trips? A discrete choice experiment in France," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 911-931.

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