Britain’s long distance rail fares could fall by over 40% by adopting Europe’s proven ‘Third Way’ model
In the ‘Open Access’ long-distance passenger rail model, rail operators are able to set fares, product and frequencies based upon meeting and growing passenger demand, rather than being confined to pre-set fares or timetables specified by Government or transport authorities.
In a growing number of countries, ‘Open Access’ long-distance operators fully compete against each other on the same route, which has led to higher frequencies, lower fares and savings for the taxpayer.
If Britain adopted the 'Open Access' model for long-distance passenger rail, fares could fall by over 40%.
Evidence shows that when state-owned incumbents compete with each other on cross-border routes, then there is much faster modal shift to rail
Once again, it has been proven that competition between passenger rail operators on the same tracks is the key driver for a fast modal shift. This also applies to competition between state incumbents.
Indeed, nine months since French incumbent SNCF and Italian incumbent FS Trenitalia started competing on the Paris - Lyon - Milan route, the total number of passengers has grown by 58%.
Therefore, competition - rather than collaboration - between state incumbents on cross-border routes is needed to draw passengers away from non-sustainable modes of transport.
New CNN article shows how competition in passenger rail has severely reduced air travel
In a major new article, the global news channel CNN shows how competition in long distance passenger rail in Italy has led to a huge growth in passengers and reduced the domestic flight market.