The impact of separation between infrastructure management and transport operations on the EU railway sector

This brief Note provides a summary of experience across EU Member States concerning the separation (unbundling) of railway operations from railway infrastructure management, looking at the advantages and disadvantages of vertical separation. It also reports on five case studies: Great Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy and France (in each case, exploring the impact of separation on economic costs, operations, competition and safety, as well as taking into account the perspective of rail users). Finally, the Note draws conclusions from the European experience of vertical separation with a view to informing future policy discussions.