Is it possible to set up your own railway company on the European network?[Est-il possible de créer sa propre compagnie ferroviaire sur le réseau européen ?]

In the 1980s, the European Commission (EC) initiated a change in the railway sector to create a large European network. At that time, Europe saw a green opportunity to connect its Member States and improve the welfare of people and goods in a single economy. In the beginning, it was also important to create a strong European railway industry. As in other sectors, the EC started to discuss the natural monopoly and changed this vision to consider only the infrastructure with the creation of managers (IM). The main reason for this move was to open up the market to new investors and to optimise investment in public companies (such as Renfe Operadora in Spain, SNCF Voyageurs in France or Trenitalia in Italy, our three study areas). Today, 30 years after, there are not many examples of companies providing rail services without the support of historical companies. This research, which is the result of the author's doctoral thesis, focuses on the cases of new companies that were created, at least initially, without the direct support from the public authorities. Today, we can identify Iryo, Alsa Rail and Ecorail in Spain; Proxima, Kevin Speed and Le Train in France and Arenaways in Italy. We'll have to study other projects that won't be as successful as Railcoop or Midnight Trains in France and the first attempt of Arenaways in Italy. We cannot forget the role of the historic companies in these 3 countries, all of which have proposed services. For this work, we will take all the public data in press, conferences and social networks and we have done interviews with all the actors in the system: new companies, historical ones, IM and regulatory bodies, as the most relevant ones. Finally, an important factor for a successful operation is the large investment in a specific rolling stock and maintenance centres. In conclusion, we examine the different mechanisms that new operators need to be able to start their business in the HSR market, facing entry barriers.