The opening of the European Railroad Network: a lost opportunity for european unification

Abstract

The opening of railroad infrastructure to new transport operators in Europe has made it necessary to develop a pricing system for its use. The European Union’s transport policy has proposed guidelines for establishing similar pricing system for all EU members. However, while there are some commonalities, today’s pricing systems differ substantially from one country to another. These differences reduce continuity between networks and distort the competition conditions between countries, both of which are negative aspects for domestic trade. This paper analyzes the pricing systems of eight European countries and presents several proposals for harmonizing pricing systems.