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Nature or nurture: why do railroads carry greater freight share in the United States than in Europe?

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  • Jose Vassallo
  • Mark Fagan

Abstract

During the 1950s, the share of freight carried by railroads was similar and declining in both the United States and Europe. By 2000, the railroads’ share of freight (measured in ton–kilometers) had reached 38% in the United States while falling to 8% in Europe. This paper examines the reasons for the difference in rail’s share of freight in Europe and the United States. We find that almost 83% of the gap in 2000 is probably due to natural or inherent differences, principally geography, shipment distance, and commodity mix. However, 17% of the gap cannot be explained by these inherent differences and is presumably due to public policies including priority of passenger service, lack of interoperability at borders, service quality and rates, and incentives of the rail operators. We estimate that if that policy gap were closed, railroads’ share of freight in Europe would increase from 8% to 13%. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007

Suggested Citation

  • Jose Vassallo & Mark Fagan, 2007. "Nature or nurture: why do railroads carry greater freight share in the United States than in Europe?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 177-193, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:34:y:2007:i:2:p:177-193
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-006-9103-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cantos, Pedro & Maudos, Joaqui­n, 2001. "Regulation and efficiency: the case of European railways," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 459-472, June.
    2. John D. Bitzan & Theodore E. Keeler, 2003. "Productivity Growth and Some of Its Determinants in the Deregulated U.S. Railroad Industry," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(2), pages 232-253, October.
    3. John D. Bitzan & Theodore E. Keeler, 2003. "Productivity Growth and Some of Its Determinants in the Deregulated U.S. Railroad Industry," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 70(2), pages 232-253, October.
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    1. Pittman, Russell & Jandova, Monika & Krol, Marcin & Nekrasenko, Larysa & Paleta, Tomas, 2019. "The Effectiveness of EC Policies to Move Freight from Road to Rail: Evidence from CEE Grain Markets," MPRA Paper 97571, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Pérez-Martínez, P.J. & Vassallo-Magro, J.M., 2013. "Changes in the external costs of freight surface transport In Spain," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 61-76.
    3. Verhetsel, Ann & Kessels, Roselinde & Goos, Peter & Zijlstra, Toon & Blomme, Nele & Cant, Jeroen, 2015. "Location of logistics companies: a stated preference study to disentangle the impact of accessibility," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 110-121.
    4. Allen, John G. & Newmark, Gregory L., 2021. "Access protocols for railroads: Reframing the infrastructure separation debate," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Harrod, Steven & Schlechte, Thomas, 2013. "A direct comparison of physical block occupancy versus timed block occupancy in train timetabling formulations," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 50-66.
    6. van Riessen, B. & Negenborn, R.R. & Dekker, R. & Lodewijks, G., 2013. "Impact and relevance of transit disturbances on planning in intermodal container networks," Econometric Institute Research Papers EI 2013-18, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), Econometric Institute.
    7. Rich, J. & Kveiborg, O. & Hansen, C.O., 2011. "On structural inelasticity of modal substitution in freight transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 134-146.
    8. Andrade Furtado, Francisco Manuel Bastos, 2013. "U.S. and European Freight Railways: The Differences That Matter," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 52(2).

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