This study focuses on classifying market access for long-distance passenger rail services in Europe into three main models and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each of these models. The tendered concessions model aims to introduce competition for the market by which operators are selected in a tendering procedure. The monopolistic network operator model aims to sustain network effects by granting a concession to one operator. The open market model enhances operators' entrepreneurship by providing opportunities to plan services based on open access to the network. The strengths, opportunities, risks and threats of each model are outlined. An overview of the organisation of long-distance passenger railway markets in selected European countries and of the development of Germany's long distance rail passenger services in particular is presented. For the covering abstract see ITRD E146823
Samenvatting