IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/retrec/v20y2007i1p179-198.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Options for Restructuring the State-Owned Monopoly Railway

Author

Listed:
  • Pittman, Russell

Abstract

Vertical separation in the freight railways sector may sacrifice significant economies of integration. Economies of density suggest that corresponding benefits may be elusive. We examine competitive alternatives to vertical separation. One option is the creation of competition among restructured vertically integrated railways, an option generally limited to relatively large countries absent willingness to create multinational railway networks. Second is the opening of the infrastructure of the integrated railway to access by train operating companies. Rarely are the benefits of separation of train from track likely to be so great as to outweigh the losses from the vertical separation itself.

Suggested Citation

  • Pittman, Russell, 2007. "Options for Restructuring the State-Owned Monopoly Railway," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 179-198, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:20:y:2007:i:1:p:179-198
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739-8859(07)20007-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ivaldi Marc & Mccullough Gerard, 2008. "Subadditivity Tests for Network Separation with an Application to U.S. Railroads," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, March.
    2. Pittman, Russell W, 1990. "Railroads and Competition: The Santa Fe/Southern Pacific Merger Proposal," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 25-46, September.
    3. Victor S. Clark, 1908. "Australian Economic Problems. I. The Railways," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 22(3), pages 399-451.
    4. Buehler, Stefan & Schmutzler, Armin & Benz, Men-Andri, 2004. "Infrastructure quality in deregulated industries: is there an underinvestment problem?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 253-267, February.
    5. Antonio Estache & Andrea Goldstein & Russell Pittman, 2001. "Privatization and Regulatory Reform in Brazil: The Case of Freight Railways," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 203-235, June.
    6. Ivaldi, M & McCullough, G J, 2001. "Density and Integration Effects on Class I U.S. Freight Railroads," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 161-182, March.
    7. Russell Pittman, 2004. "Russian Railways Reform and the Problem of Non‐discriminatory Access to Infrastructure," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 167-192, June.
    8. Vickerman, Roger, 2004. "Maintenance incentives under different infrastructure regimes," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 315-322, December.
    9. Jamasb, Tooraj, 2006. "Between the state and market: Electricity sector reform in developing countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 14-30, March.
    10. Pittman Russell, 2005. "Structural Separation to Create Competition? The Case of Freight Railways," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 4(3), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Russell Pittman, 2003. "Vertical Restructuring (or Not) of the Infrastructure Sectors of Transition Economies," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 5-26, March.
    12. MacDonald, James M, 1989. "Railroad Deregulation, Innovation, and Competition: Effects of the Staggers Act on Grain Transportation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(1), pages 63-95, April.
    13. Christian von Hirschhausen, 2002. "Modernizing Infrastructure in Transformation Economies," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2839.
    14. Christian Growitsch & Heike Wetzel, 2006. "Economies of Scope in European Railways: An Efficiency Analysis," Working Paper Series in Economics 29, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    15. Guido Friebel & Sergei Guriev & Russell Pittman & Elizaveta Shevyakhova & Anna Tomová, 2006. "Railroad Restructuring in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe: One Solution for All Problems?," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 251-271, August.
    16. Oliver E. Williamson, 1976. "Franchise Bidding for Natural Monopolies -- in General and with Respect to CATV," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 7(1), pages 73-104, Spring.
    17. Jean-Jacques Laffont, 2004. "Management of Public Utilities in China," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 5(2), pages 185-210, November.
    18. MacDonald, James M., 1989. "Effects of railroad deregulation on grain transportation," Technical Bulletins 312302, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    19. Wilson, Wesley W, 1997. "Cost Savings and Productivity in the Railroad Industry," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 21-40, January.
    20. Russell Pittman, 2004. "Chinese Railway Reform and Competition: Lessons from the Experience in Other Countries," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 38(2), pages 309-332, May.
    21. John D. Bitzan, 2003. "Railroad Costs and Competition: The Implications of Introducing Competition to Railroad Networks," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 37(2), pages 201-225, May.
    22. Luisa Affuso & David Newbery, 2002. "The Impact of Structural and Contractual Arrangements on a Vertically Separated Railway," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 33(1), pages 83-92.
    23. James M. MacDonald, 1987. "Competition and Rail Rates for the Shipment of Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 18(1), pages 151-163, Spring.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Yan & Pittman, Russell, 2012. "The proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile: Are there unexhausted scale economies in U.S. mobile telephony?," MPRA Paper 39043, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. José A. Gómez-Ibáñez, 2016. "Open Access to Infrastructure Networks: The Experience of Railroads," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 49(2), pages 311-345, September.
    3. Pittman, Russell, 2016. "Reforming and Restructuring Ukrzaliznytsia: A Crucial Task for Ukrainian Reformers," MPRA Paper 76028, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. R. Pittman, 2009. "Railway Mergers and Railway Alliances: Competition Issues and Lessons for Other Network Industries," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, Intersentia, vol. 10(3), pages 259-279, September.
    5. Nash, Chris A. & Smith, Andrew S.J. & van de Velde, Didier & Mizutani, Fumitoshi & Uranishi, Shuji, 2014. "Structural reforms in the railways: Incentive misalignment and cost implications," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 16-23.
    6. Russell Pittman, 2009. "Competition Issues in Restructuring Ports and Railways, Including Brief Consideration of these Sectors in India," EAG Discussions Papers 200906, Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.
    7. Beria, Paolo & Quinet, Emile & de Rus, Gines & Schulz, Carola, 2012. "A comparison of rail liberalisation levels across four European countries," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 110-120.
    8. Waters II, William G., 2007. "Evolution of Railroad Economics," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 11-67, January.
    9. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce, 2016. "The privatization and de-privatization of rail industry assets in Australia and New Zealand," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 48-56.
    10. Nakamura, Eri & Sakai, Hiroki, 2020. "Does vertical integration facilitate coordination between infrastructure management and train operating units in the rail sector? Implications for Japanese railways," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    11. Zong, Yueqi & Wu, Jianhong & Yu, Kemei & Yang, Xutao, 2023. "Efficiency benchmarking and its determinants in high-speed railways: Reference for China," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    12. Yan Li & Russell Pitman, 2012. "The proposed merger of AT & T and T-mobile: Are there unexhausted scale economies in US mobile telephony?," Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) 2012-07, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    13. Pittman Russell, 2020. "On the Economics of Restructuring World Railways, with a Focus on Russia," Man and the Economy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 1-25, December.
    14. Li, Hongchang & Yu, Kemei & Wang, Kun & Zhang, Anming, 2019. "Market power and its determinants in the Chinese railway industry," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 261-276.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pittman, Russell, 2011. "Risk-averse restructuring of freight railways in China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 152-160.
    2. Cui, Shana & Pittman, Russell & Zhao, Jian, 2018. "Restructuring the Chinese Freight Railway: Two Scenarios," MPRA Paper 88407, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. R. Pittman, 2009. "Railway Mergers and Railway Alliances: Competition Issues and Lessons for Other Network Industries," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, Intersentia, vol. 10(3), pages 259-279, September.
    4. Fumitoshi Mizutani & Shuji Uranishi, 2013. "Does vertical separation reduce cost? An empirical analysis of the rail industry in European and East Asian OECD Countries," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 31-59, January.
    5. Pittman Russell, 2015. "Railways Restructuring and Ukrainian Economic Reform," Man and the Economy, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 87-107, June.
    6. Russell Pittman, 2009. "Competition Issues in Restructuring Ports and Railways, Including Brief Consideration of these Sectors in India," EAG Discussions Papers 200906, Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.
    7. Guido Friebel & Sergei Guriev & Russell Pittman & Elizaveta Shevyakhova & Anna Tomová, 2006. "Railroad Restructuring in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe: One Solution for All Problems?," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 251-271, August.
    8. José A. Gómez-Ibáñez, 2016. "Open Access to Infrastructure Networks: The Experience of Railroads," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 49(2), pages 311-345, September.
    9. John Bitzan & Wesley Wilson, 2007. "Industry costs and consolidation: efficiency gains and mergers in the U.S. railroad industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 30(2), pages 81-105, March.
    10. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce, 2016. "The privatization and de-privatization of rail industry assets in Australia and New Zealand," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 48-56.
    11. Schmidt, Stephen, 2001. "Market structure and market outcomes in deregulated rail freight markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 19(1-2), pages 99-131, January.
    12. Pittman, Russell, 2016. "Reforming and Restructuring Ukrzaliznytsia: A Crucial Task for Ukrainian Reformers," MPRA Paper 76028, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. David Besanko & Shana Cui, 2016. "Railway restructuring and organizational choice: network quality and welfare impacts," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 164-206, October.
    14. Mizutani, Fumitoshi, 2020. "A comparison of vertical structural types in the railway industry: A simple mathematical explanation model," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    15. James MacDonald, 2013. "Railroads and Price Discrimination: The Roles of Competition, Information, and Regulation," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 43(1), pages 85-101, August.
    16. Ivaldi, Marc & McCullough, Gerard, 2005. "Welfare Trade-Offs in US Rail Mergers," CEPR Discussion Papers 5000, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Huang, Wencheng & Zhang, Yue & Shuai, Bin & Xu, Minhao & Xiao, Wei & Zhang, Rui & Xu, Yifei, 2019. "China railway industry reform evolution approach: Based on the Vertical Separation Model," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 546-556.
    18. Russell Pittman, 2003. "Vertical Restructuring (or Not) of the Infrastructure Sectors of Transition Economies," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 5-26, March.
    19. Hughes, Jonathan E., 2011. "The higher price of cleaner fuels: Market power in the rail transport of fuel ethanol," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 123-139, September.
    20. Finger, Matthias, 2014. "Governance of competition and performance in European railways: An analysis of five cases," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 278-288.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:20:y:2007:i:1:p:179-198. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620614/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.