`Netvision' formulates a view on the functional design of the future Dutch railway network. Its objective is to serve future transport market(s) optimally. Controlled differentiation plays a pivotal role, seeking a balance between universally useable networks on the one hand, and networks that are geared to specific transport products on the other hand. Up to now, all attention has been focused on the construction of the method: how can the demands and wishes of the end users of the railway system (travellers and shippers) be translated ultimately into specifications for the technical components in infrastructure and equipment? The method now available makes it possible to consider the inter-relationships between policy issues concerning the railway network, and to illustrate the consequences of policy choices. So far, the study has resulted in a preliminary report that is primarily intended to show that the method works properly. (A)
Abstract