Network industries economics. A comparison of rail infrastructures output in key European Countries

Infrastructure is widely recognized as a key ingredient in a country’s economic success. However many issues surrounding infrastructure management are not well analysed. This paper assesses the performance of rail infrastructures management. Focusing on key European countries this study monitors the factors directly related to the effective allocation of resources. Results suggest that the outperforming system is the Swedish, characterised by reduced cost, and the German, marked by significant scale economics. The Italian case follows these two. The expenses for running the Spanish infrastructure are relatively low but this advantage is outweighed by weak traffic. If on one hand the cost of the British network appears to be above the average, on the other hand it is compensated by the intensive use of the network. The French infrastructure presents an average production cost along with moderate productivity; a remarkable average loading makes up for this performance gap. Main limitations stem from the fact that the railway industries and their development greatly differ across European countries since the infrastructure were built on national bases. This study serves as an entry point to further assessments and evaluation of the efficacy of policies regarding the management of rail infrastructures in Europe.