International Review of Organisational Forms in the Railway Sector

Inno-V performed two studies for the Finnish government as part of a strategic study inventorying options for the Finish rail system.

Study on international experiences with the introduction of competition in the railway sector

This international study covers the opening of the railway market and the introduction of competition in six different countries in Europe. The study focuses on those regional and long distance passenger rail transport services that are of the most relevance for the Finnish situation.

The first step of the study describes the general market situation and institutional arrangements in the six countries. In the second step, the research focuses on the effects and experiences with competition in the various countries by describing various relevant case studies. Research was done mainly by desk research and interviews. Based on expert judgment, we have also drawn some general conclusions on the most important differences between the chosen organisational forms in the six countries.

Review of railway organisational forms

This study focused on rail infra managers obligations towards the transport operators in a competitive setting. The main objectives were to explore the questions that train operators make to rail authorities both in the tendering phase and during the contract and the resources the authority needs to fulfill it’s duties towards the train operators. The scope of the study was both freight and passenger transport.

The research of inno-V focused on the situation in the UK and the Netherlands. The work was done interviewing relevant authorities in the UK and the Netherlands complemented by desk research. The Dutch and British railway organisational forms seem somewhat comparable at first sight: both have three main separated ‘poles’ in the form of a triangle: the ministry, the infrastructure provider and the train operators, plus some involvement by regional transport authorities. An analysis of the results of the research however showed that these regimes function in rather different ways.