Concerning competition and innovation, the chosen model of separation between infrastructure and operations is not the right way of splitting up the railways. This is demonstrated by the fact that so far the Netherlands Railways (NS) hardly has any serious competition to contend with, and innovation is threatening to stagnate. Factors that were originally responsible for turning the railways into monolithic organisations are now the reason why there is such a lack of competition and innovation: (1) Track and rolling stock have strong technical bonds; (2) The production means, for instance infrastructure and rolling stock (and staff), are expensive and have a long life; (3) The timetable simultaneously describes the transport supply and the allocation of production means. It therefore integrates train operations and infrastructure management; and (4) the railways are a tool of transport policy. This paper outlines an alternative model to the present system. Better service to the user can be achieved by competition in the market between the first and second layers. Innovation of the production means is concentrated within a single layer which enables a proper trade-off between investment in tracks and locomotives for example for a new signalling system. The systematic decomposition proposed creates the opportunity of providing greater overall control with a view to improving the performance of the railways. (A)
Samenvatting