The impact of vertical separation on the success of the railways

This paper empirically analyses whether full ownership separation strengthens rail in comparison with other transport modes — a major goal of European and national transport policies. Data from nine European countries in the period 1994–2009 are evaluated, with the end result that the positive effects of full separation cannot be confirmed. On the contrary, full separation significantly reduces the share of rail in passenger transport, while in the freight segment, the regressions yield ambiguous results.