Comparison of Three Models for Introducing Competition in Rail Freight Transport

Abstract

Though European rail policies are aiming to introduce intra-modal competition in the railway sector, there are different ways to introduce intra-modal competition in the rail freight transport. This study compares three models for introducing competition in rail freight transport in the three countries; the UK, India, and Japan. The three cases show that there are different types of intra-modal competition in the freight rail transport. This study briefly explains the models adopted by each of the three countries for introducing competition in the rail freight sector and investigates the advantages and disadvantages of each. The comparison among the three cases shows that a certain type of intra-modal competition cannot be applied to another country necessarily since the background and characteristics of the rail transport market vary depending on the countries.