The effect of the entry of private open-access operators on the performance of railways

This thesis aspires to contribute to the discussion about economic justification of current process of railway liberalisation in European Union and specifically in Czech Republic. We focus on the method of vertical separation and open access, where governments keep control over the infrastructure and its development and individual train operators compete on-track. The first section contains a summary of progress of the reform and its historical context across Europe and a review of various methods of its economic evaluation. Based on that, the next section presents a partial equilibrium econometric model applied on the route between Prague and Ostrava. Simulations are run to explore different market settings, infrastructure investment possibilities and potential tolls imposed on individual road transportation. We conclude that liberalisation followed by entry of competing railway undertakings, as well as a rational attitude of the government towards long-term infrastructure investments, are crucial for future competitiveness of railways