The development of the high speed train (HST) network in Europe, combinedwith rail liberalization, has already influenced passengers mode choice, and triggered reactions from competing modes. This may be only the beginning of the story. Airlines, cornered by the lack of capacity at airports, and by the poor profitability of short haul flights (worsened by rising fuel prices), can possibly find opportunities in cooperation with rail operators. This has already happened, but remains limited. So far, a few "intermodal" agreements have been signed between airlines and train operators : Air France and SNCF, Air France and Thalys, Lufthansa and Deutsch Bahn AG. Other non European airlines have also done so.There is only so far one case in which the dominant airline has stopped operating its flights after concluding an agreement with the train operator : On the Brussels-Roissy CDGroute, Air France entrusts its passengers to Thalys in order to get them to and from the airport.ûWith the progressive opening of the rail markets,other developments may take place, and it is not unbelievable that the whole scene of medium distance European public transport will be changed deeply. New or existing operators will most likely develop new services, and the borders between air and rail operators could become blurred. Air and rail products are indeed sometimes substitutes (pushing towards competition) and sometimes complements ( pushing towards cooperation). In networks economics literature, the case for integration of components of the network in a single firm has been studied as well as the impacts of integration onnetwork compatibility and on competition. This literature is used to study the potential case of air-rail integration, and to draw implications in terms of competition.ûThe possibility of emergence of multi-modal network operators is discussed. For the covering abstract see ITRD E135582.
Abstract