MANAGERIAL CHALLENGES IN RUSSIAN RAILWAYS PRIVATIZATION AND RESTRUCTURING IN THE CONTEXT OF INTEGRATION INTO GLOBAL TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

Abstract

The article describes the results of an analysis of the processes of privatization and the restructuring of railways, in the context of their inclusion in international transport projects in managerial perspective. The purpose of this study is to emphasize the totality of the rational property relationships, interrelationships and the competition between their structural elements in present-day railway transport systems, and also the influences of branch restructuring on the market effectiveness of transport services. The methodology used in this study involved building on a structural-functional approach and emphasizing the totality of the steady relationships and interrelationships between their elements and their roles relative to each other and to the global market, for the transport services as a whole in the integral transport systems. The processes involved in the optimal model formation of the industry structure were studied. The following structural elements, which are basic for evaluating the expediency of railway privatization, were evaluated: the organizational form of the business, market competition and the separation of the infrastructure and transportation functions. A conclusion was made about the absence of a connection between the structural business model and the privatization effects; namely, the investment needs of the railway infrastructure are considerably higher than the amount that is invested, the active railway memberships are evaluated based on this and the asymmetry prevents the flow of the investments necessary for the branch. The effects of an increase in the market competition in different organizational models of the market for rail transportation were also studied. As a result, a conclusion was made about the reasons for the absence of such an effect on the Russian rail freight market. In the study, it is assumed that the conclusions will be applied to the current processes of the Russian railways privatization and restructuring as a part of the Eurasian transport system infrastructure. It was proven that the basic effects of privatization and restructuring were a result of the density of the network, the openness of the market for transportation and the effectiveness of the national railways controls. It was substantiated that it is precisely the globalization of the economy that ensures the three-dimensional effectiveness of global transport systems, drawing in investments through their development and improving the quality of transport services for the users.