2. Industry analysis of a TOC perspective to design generic strategies
By definition transportation is described as the displacing of an object with given characteristics from point A to point B, leaving and arriving at given dates under defined conditions of quality and safety. Therefore, obvious characteristics of transportation products are their high level of differentiation (Seabright et al., 2003, p. 10). Passenger rail transportation can be differentiated by regional and long-distance transportation. Three major distinction criteria for the classification of long-distance passenger transportation are:
(1)
Type of service: Long-distance passenger transportation comprises the segments of high-speed, intercity, eurocity, auto and night trains (Beckers et al., 2009, p. 5).
(2)
Average traveling distance: Basically, each journey above a longer distance (e.g. 100 kilometers) can be classified as long-distance. However, the average traveling distances per country vary from the different local geographic circumstances (Beckers et al., 2009, p. 5).
(3)
Profitability: Whereas regional transportation is usually characterized by partial levels of state provision and financing, long-distance transportation is operating independent and commercially viable (Beckers et al., 2009, p. 5).