Driving force for rail freight
The railway liberalisation represents the cornerstone of the transport policy put into practice by the EU and the Swiss Government since the 1990s in order to develop rail traffic and tackle transport mobility.
Whilst liberalised road transport has continuously increased its productivity and performance in the past decades, the rail industry is still at the start of the liberalisation process. In the introduction to the 4th Railway Package (January 2013), the European Commission describes the insufficient opening of the market, entry barriers for new railway companies, discrimination in daily operation and market-distorting cross-subsidies within integrated railway companies.
In order to improve the competitiveness of the rail against the road, it is essential to achieve separation of infrastructure and operations, but also free access to the network, vital preconditions that allow the opening of the market and the creation of a healthy competitive environment among rail companies. It is also of crucial importance to overcome the numerous technical and administrative hurdles that still stand in the way of a functioning, Europe-wide railway market today.
Hupac is convinced that full liberalisation will give the rail market the crucial impetus for customer-oriented services and sustainable economic success.