Railway Liberalization of Passenger Transportation in Europe

Only a liberalized and interoperable rail system, that is open to competition, can meet its full potential as an indispensable passenger transportation network in the intermodal transport chain and as a competitive mode of its own. A key advantage in a liberalized environment is for railways to improve their service levels to those available in other transport modes. Based on the first author's experience in working in Europe as a rail intern, this paper aims at rail liberalization for passenger transportation in Europe, providing a summary of rail liberalization in Europe, and addressing key factors and lessons that may be useful for the operation and marketing of China's high speed railway network.