In order to support the decision on the national railway network franchise, the Presidium of the Dutch Lower House has requested a second opinion on the future main railway network franchise (OCII) from three independent research agencies. The investigation is divided into three components: transport competence, finance and management. This report contains an analysis of the transport competence. Based on this research, it is said that all the agreements made in OCII appear to be reasonably verifiable so long as the correct information to verify them becomes available. Agreements on tariffs are not flexible enough while agreements on the growth of the transport volume and punctuality are, in the absence of supplementary agreements, highly ambitious and dependent on external factors. Therefore, these agreements are vulnerable in terms of attainability and maintainability. (A)
Abstract