The changes faced by the global rail industry in recent years have brought a redefinition of some of the traditional regulatory instruments available in this sector. This paper, focusing on price and quality regulation, discusses how these instruments have been applied in several countries where...

This paper discusses how the current trend towards increased private participation in the rail industry is reshaping the way in which Governments should address the main regulatory challenges arising from the particular economic and technical characteristics of this industry. We review the role...

Traditionally, transport regulation has been viewed as an exercise in second-best optimization, acknowledging the existence of huge information problems. Then the rail industry was deeply restructured worldwide to halt erosion of the sector's share of transportation markets. Restructuring took...

The impact of transport infrastructures on the economic growth of both regions and sectors, distinguishing among modes of transport, is analysed. An attempt is also made to capture the spillover effects associated with transport infrastructures. Two different methodologies are used: the first...

During the long period of regulation of the railway system in Europe (1950s-1990s) the companies notably improved their levels of productivity. However, parallel to this, the state of their financial accounts also significantly worsened. In order to explain this fact we have estimated both cost...

One of the key questions in the evaluation of transport policies and investment decisions is the valuation of the time savings or losses arising from such decisions. This paper uses the stated preference method to determine the value of time in a given traffic context characterised by a road...

This paper develops a theoretical model for freight transport characterized by competition between means of transport (the road and maritime sectors), where modes are perceived as differentiated products. Competitive behavior is assumed in the road freight sector, and there are constant returns...