LAUSR

This paper explores influences on open access competition in the long-distance passenger rail transport in Europe. It fills a gap in the existing literature by providing expert opinions on open access competition and by identifying and rating factors influencing competition positively or negatively, using a Delphi study. A panel of 30 experts were consulted in three rounds of questionnaires. The combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis reveals the following main findings: open access competition is a tool to revitalise the passenger rail market; however, under the current market conditions, only a limited increase in competition within the next 10 years is expected. The factors showing the highest influence on open access competition are access to attractive train paths, market potential, presence of intermodal competitors, low profitability of the industry, and infrastructure costs. Analysing competition in different EU countries indicates that strength and type of influencing factors are not identical. The results imply that progress concerning market opening has been made; however, much needs to be done to offer a competitive environment and improve conditions for open access competition, e.g. by speeding up the technical harmonisation within the EU or by reconsidering the setting of rail access charges.