Changing trains. Railway reform and the role of competition: the experience of six countries

Changing Trains. Railway reform and the role of competition: the experience of six countries:

This volume marks the re-launch of the Oxford Studies in Transport series. The series was established in 1983 by Phil Goodwin and has been revived under the editorship of the new Director of the Transport Studies Unit at the University of Oxford, Dr John Preston. This book is based on research work carried out in 1997 financed by the Dutch Railways (NS) and the Dutch Ministry of Transport. The original research report titled Railway reform and the role of competition: the experience of six countries was finalised in January 1998 and included six country reports besides the main report. Changes in legislation and regulation since the report was published have been included in this book, up to the summer of 1998. The book concentrates on the reforms being implemented in Europe and Japan with a special focus on the role played by competition and contracting in dense and polycentric passenger networks. The aim of the book is to stimulate the discussions on railway reform and on the use of competition therein. Countries with comparable levels of economic development and with dense and intensively used networks were chosen for a maximum of comparability. These are the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and France. Each country study is structured in a similar fashion to allow easy referencing and comparisons. The book finishes with a synthesis of the six country chapters and general lessons are drawn.