Ein innovativer Regulierungsansatz zur Belebung des Wettbewerbs im Schienenpersonenfernverkehr

Im Schienenpersonenfernverkehr bestehen trotz Bahnstrukturreform weiterhin hohe Markt-eintrittsbarrieren. Der Wettbewerb im Nah- und Schienengüterverkehr ist im Vergleich dazu bereits besser in Gang gekommen. Die Autoren schlagen einen innovativen Regulierungs-ansatz vor, um den intramodalen Wettbewerb im Schienenpersonenfernverkehr zu beleben. Mitbewerbern der Deutschen Bahn soll nicht nur der offene Zugang zu Gleisen, sondern auch zu Zügen und Wagen – also Sitzplatzkontingenten – ermöglicht werden.Regulatory efforts to introduce effective intramodal competition to the rail sector, in parti-cular to the long-distance intercity market segment, have so far achieved only very limited success in most countries. Germany is a case in point. Even 25 years after the fundamental 1994 ‘rail structure reform’, which eliminated the legal network monopoly of the former Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB), the combined market share of all competitors for long-distance passenger services remains stuck at “significantly below one per cent” (Bundesnetzagentur 2018, 22). This figure stands in stark contrast to the competitors’ market shares of some 26% for short-distance (regional) services - where a competition for the market regime has been established - and around 50% of the rail cargo segment - which is governed by an open access regime. In this paper, we make the case for an alternative regulatory regime to sub-stantially increase effective intramodal competition in the intercity rail passenger market. Our proposal addresses, and helps to overcome, the two major entry barriers faced by competitors: the massive investment needs in rolling stock on the one hand and reliable infrastructure access on the other