Railways reforms in Europe: Which ways to promote competition and efficiency?

Proceedings on CD-ROM.Thirteen years ago, the European Guideline 91/440 was implemented to increase efficiency of railway organisations throughout Europe. After 25 years of continuous decline of rail market shares, the trend has to be stopped, because railway transport remains an accurate transport mode, especially due to environmental advantages facing road transport. The main decision was to split transport operating from infrastructure management and aimed at opening railway operation to competition and to develop market relationships in order to increase efficiency. Hence, competition and efficiency are tightly linked in European railways reforms. It is still the case in the new European Guidelines (2001/12/13/14). Transeuropean railway freight networks will be opened to competition from March 2003 onDespite these two objectives (more competition and more efficiency), the results are often deceiving and it is necessary to explain why, and if it is possible to obtain better results.To reach this global aim the paper will be divided into three parts : 1) An overall survey about the current situation of Railway in Europe through some relevant data ; 2) An assessment of the core of European railway reform, that is to say splitting infrastructure and exploitation as regarding efficiency ; 3) Third part will tackle the question of track pricing in the dominant case of “off the track” competition