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Rail freight development in Europe: how to deal with a doubly-imperfect competition?

Author

Listed:
  • Yves Crozet

    (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, IEP Lyon - Sciences Po Lyon - Institut d'études politiques de Lyon - Université de Lyon)

Abstract

The development of rail freight is central to the European Union's transportation policy. As it has been the case for road and air transport and for other network industries (e.g. energy and telecommunications), deregulation and market opening have been the main policy options chosen by EU to promote rail freight. But rail freight is still facing a doubly-imperfect competition. On one hand, the intermodal competition is off balance between road and rail. On the other hand, intra-modal competition between railway operators is imperfect. Railway operators are not all alike, major companies exist and they play a structuring role that regulation must take into account. According to the HHI (Hirschman Herfindahl Index) the market structure is still characterised by a strong concentration. Therefore, the key roles played by the major companies as well as, in some countries, the remaining action of the state, have to be addressed, since both of them represent some of the key features of imperfect competition in the rail sector. Numerous entry barriers remain and market power manifest itself in many areas of rail freight. This should be given special attention by regulators or competition authorities. National regulators should also communicate with one another, as they will be confronted with major companies' market power.

Suggested Citation

  • Yves Crozet, 2017. "Rail freight development in Europe: how to deal with a doubly-imperfect competition?," Post-Print halshs-02122842, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02122842
    DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.420
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Giuseppe Loprencipe & Laura Moretti & Tiziana Pestillo & Ricardo Ferraro, 2018. "Railway Freight Transport and Logistics: Methods for Relief, Algorithms for Verification and Proposals for the Adjustment of Tunnel Inner Surfaces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Martin Savelsbergh & Masoud Talebian, 2019. "Cost allocation under competition: a new rail access charging policy," EURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics, Springer;EURO - The Association of European Operational Research Societies, vol. 8(5), pages 511-534, December.
    3. Romualdas Ginevicius & Gintaras Sinkevicius, 2020. "Quantitative Assessment of the Dynamics of Rail Freight Transportation," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(54), pages 579-579, April.
    4. Marzena Kramarz & Edyta Przybylska, 2021. "Maturity of Polish Rail Intermodal Transport as Compared to Selected EU Countries: A Comparative Analysis," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4B), pages 202-217.
    5. Marzano, Vittorio & Tocchi, Daniela & Papola, Andrea & Aponte, Dario & Simonelli, Fulvio & Cascetta, Ennio, 2018. "Incentives to freight railway undertakings compensating for infrastructural gaps: Methodology and practical application to Italy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 177-188.
    6. Patrice Bougette & Axel Gautier & Frédéric Marty, 2021. "Which access to which assets for an effective liberalization of the railway sector?," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, , vol. 22(2), pages 87-110, June.
    7. Aleksandra Kuzior & Marek Staszek, 2021. "Energy Management in the Railway Industry: A Case Study of Rail Freight Carrier in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-21, October.
    8. Vincent Collins Matemba & Kasonde Mundende & Inonge Milupi, 2023. "Contestability between Road and Rail Transport for Dry Cargo in Malawi: Cost and Service Reliability Issues. The Never Ending Race," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 10(9), pages 335-342, September.

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