A blueprint for a better railway: how innovation, devolution and competition can help Britain's railways to serve consumers better

Price, Richard (2012): A blueprint for a better railway: how innovation, devolution and competition can help Britain's railways to serve consumers better. Published in: Office of Rail and Road document No. -

Abstract

This paper sets out the origins and development of the UK's unique system of rail operation, funding and regulation. It sets out options to tackle the system's shortcomings to that it works better in the interests of customens and taxpayers. The industry needs the freedom to innovate, to deliver better value and to make rail more attractive for passengers and freight. For too long the rail industry, the government, and the regulator have created ever more byzantine funding and decision-making structures, and since privatisation regulator and government have been drawn into operational detail instead of being focused on what matters-ensuring the industry serves its customers at the best price for the taxpayer.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: railway finance infrastructure devolution transport economics
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L30 - General; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L32 - Public Enterprises ; Public-Private Enterprises; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L33 - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprises and Nonprofit Institutions ; Privatization ; Contracting Out; L - Industrial Organization > L3 - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise > L38 - Public Policy; L - Industrial Organization > L5 - Regulation and Industrial Policy > L51 - Economics of Regulation; L - Industrial Organization > L5 - Regulation and Industrial Policy > L52 - Industrial Policy ; Sectoral Planning Methods; L - Industrial Organization > L5 - Regulation and Industrial Policy > L53 - Enterprise Policy; L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities; L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities > L92 - Railroads and Other Surface Transportation; N - Economic History > N7 - Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services > N74 - Europe: 1913-; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R4 - Transportation Economics; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R4 - Transportation Economics > R41 - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion ; Travel Time ; Safety and Accidents ; Transportation Noise; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R4 - Transportation Economics > R48 - Government Pricing and Policy

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