Generic railway strategies TOCs
train operator strategies
a research-oriented knowledge base for train operating companies (TOCs)
a research-oriented knowledge base for train operating companies (TOCs)
1.3 European Union's railway reforms
Figure gallery:
Railways as service of general interest were initially addressed in a European policy paper in 1991. Almost twenty years later the European Union presented the recast of its first railway package of reforms in 2010. Analyzing European Union’s railway liberalization approach in depth, political measures can be clustered into five major phases as visualized below. The rail restructuring initiatives consist of four major objectives:
- Creation of competitiveness of the European railways as a transport system with an increased level of modal split;
- Support of the European Union’s economic growth policy and exploitation of EU’s internal market with a trans-European railway network;
- Establishment of sustainable mobility solutions with railways in charge;
- Decrease of governmental funding for the railway industry (di Pietrantonio & Pelkmans, 2004, p. 4; Streichfuss, 2010, p. 15).
The recast of EU’s first railway package from 2010 adjusts the early stated initiatives in the three railway packages to create a common European railway market. The recast shall decrease competitive barriers and unclear areas of action as well as clarify ambiguities in the current legislation (Centrum für Europäische Politik, 2010, pp. 1-2). The terminology of a Single European Railway Area was chosen in the recast for the first time. The recast contains several concrete measures that shall reduce protectionist behavior by incumbents and facilitate access for new entrants (European Commission, 2010d, pp. 11-79). Detailed information regarding the reforms is available in the gallery.
Figure gallery:
