European passenger rail reforms: A comparative assessment of the emerging models

This paper provides a comprehensive framework for analysing and comparing the various institutional models and regulatory arrangements that have recently emerged from the restructuring of European passenger rail industries. The framework identifies seven key dimensions that can be used to describe these models and arrangements. It shows how these dimensions are connected with one another in a complex web of interactions. Empirical material gathered on the passenger rail industries of five EU Member States, i.e. Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, and Sweden is used, as well as extrapolation to highlight the costs and benefits (incentive properties) associated with alternative arrangements and contract features and to show how certain dimensions can be traded-off against one another to optimize the industry's performance.