Railways were originally envisaged as open access facilities with head-on competition between service providers. However in most countries long distance passenger rail services became a state-owned monopoly but in recent years there has been renewed interest in competitive provision. Within the European Union, open access for international passenger rail services, with domestic cabotage, will be implemented in 2010. The contracting out of passenger rail services is discussed. The emerging evidence on competition in long distance passenger rail services is reviewed, considering theoretical models of rail competition, the East Coast Main Line franchise in Great Britain, and open access services that are competing in the market in Great Britain. It is considered that evidence in support of competition for long distance rail services, either in the market or for the market, is mixed. For the covering abstract see ITRD E146823
Abstract