Enhancing the Competitiveness of Passenger Railway Markets

On account of EU directives, the railway transit markets have been liberalized and railway passenger transport markets are on the way to being liberalized. The financial and economic crisis has intensified the decline of the railway market, contrary to expectations; additionally, the same comment applies to passenger markets. The main aim of this paper is to describe the factors which could change this trend by improving the competitiveness of railway markets. A comparative analysis was conducted to examine the indicators that are correlated to the economy, railway infrastructure and performance of EU states, and in order to identify factors which could improve market performance. The results indicate a significant positive stochastic correlation between performance and passenger transport modal shift and also between performance and the quality of infrastructure (such as the existence of electrical and double or more track lines), and, as a consequence, a higher market share of non-incumbent operators. In addition, the same correlation is found with tariffs. It can be concluded that improving these attributes can enhance the competitiveness of railway markets. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V.