Railway Transport Liberalization: A Case Study of Various Countries in the World

Abstract

Today, the processes of restructuring the railway sector and the liberalization of the railway market change significantly. Vertical separation between infrastructure railway transportation service provision and train operations is a significant key element in the railway liberalization. This paper focuses on a research into railway regulation and liberalization in 30 countries. The aim of this paper is to give a comparative overview of the regulation of railways and analyses the process of the liberalization and restructuring of railways in the 30 countries. We test this theoretical prediction using a data base that contains investment in transport with private participation, transport services information from World Bank. Our final results are valid for the period 1980-2014. Overall, the analyses showed statistically significant interaction effects between railways transportation and transport services and investment in transport with private participation. This study presents new insights in theory, paving the way for further research.