Abstract
To compare the competitive position of road and rail in the UK freight market it is necessary to focus on long distance freight and to use a consistent accounting framework. These conditions are not satisfied if british railways' avoidable cost approach is compared with the government's road track cost calculations. After a detailed account of how road and rail costs and prices are determined, the paper recalculated the avoidable track costs of a heavy vehicle using the trunk road network. The results suggest that british railway's claim of unfair competition on account of a preferential road subsidy is difficult to substantiate. (A)