The Liberalization Process of the Railway Sector in Romania and European Union Countries

Abstract

While the railway sector has historically been an important component of the transport industry in the EU, it has seen, in the last 30 years, its market share constantly declining in comparison with other modes of transport (especially road transport), both for freight and passenger transport Furthermore, this was a sector characterized by national markets, the presence of a monopolistic operator controlling the infrastructure and the services as well as major State subsidies, which did not encourage efficiency. This article makes an overview of the Romanian Railway sector, analizing the impact of the liberalization process and institutional reforms in Romania on the Railway industry.

Keywords

• liberalization process
• railway sector
• legislative framework
• competition rule
• country development