GOVERNANCE IN RAILWAY NETWORKS- A THOUGHT PIECE ON RAILWAY REFORM-

“Governance in Railway Networks ” combines two brand-new analytical frameworks to compare European rail networks. Taking into account the entire scope of individual institutions involved in running a rail network, the paper goes beyond existing research, which is primarily limited to cost structures and economic models. Furthermore, the paper examines various structures of “bound governance”, in which public bodies, regulators, operators and manufacturers work and interact according to largely undisputed rules. Preliminary findings suggest that railway networks are run more successfully if a system of bound governance prevails, because little energy is lost in disputes over rules and in hierarchical, behind-the-scenes, power-based governance. Drawing its conclusions on that basis, this paper introduces a new model of governance structures, in a departure from the entrenched positions in the debate on the separation between infrastructure operations and train operations. It argues that the main concerns of railway reform involve not the separation of infrastructure operators and train operators but the separation of strategic authorities and the operating companies. Five case examples from the United Kingdom