1,721,070 research outputs found
The wheels keep on turning: is the end of rail franchising in Britain in sight?
No full textThe regime of passenger rail franchising in Britain has been in place for over 20 years. The developments have been reported at past Thredbo Conferences, including by the author in 2007 and 2015. The franchising regime has been remarkably resilient and has been through at least five phases. Using the concept of regulatory cycles, this paper reviews the prospects for a sixth and possibly final phase.Rail statistics are reviewed and a welfare analysis of rail reforms in Britain is undertaken, building on and updating work presented in 2011. This suggests that franchising has been modestly welfare enhancing over the substantive phases of franchising to date, even though the transaction costs associated with franchising are substantial and apparently increasing.However, there remain concerns. Train operating costs remain high. There are also concerns about the costs that the vertical separation of operations and infrastructure impose on the system and there are plans for experiments with forms of integration. The competitive picture is evolving, in part in response to the commissioning of High Speed 2 and the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendations. Given this backdrop, this paper will consider some of the pros and cons of further changes to the franchising regime.<br/
And the beat goes on: the continued trials and tribulations of passenger rail franchising in Britain
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We can pay for better, safer, more reliable roads in a way that is fair to road users and good for the economy and the environment
No full textCongestion, allocation and competition on the railway tracks
No full textAlthough railways are traditionally a closed system, with centralised control, they can still experience congestion in the form of delays due to perturbations in demand and supply. Such congestion increases exponentially with capacity utilisation. Traditionally, on-track competition between railway companies has been limited and capacity has been allocated using administrative procedures. More recently, as railways have been opened up to competition, market-based allocation mechanisms have been developed, often overseen by an independent regulator. These include track access charges based on short run marginal cost, long run incremental costs and various forms of fully allocated costs. These access mechanisms are reviewed in light of increasing competition in railways, both on- and off-track, and their prospects are assessed in the light of emergent digital technologies
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