The economic crisis affects private sector rail freight The HoR has today (20 May 2009) sent an Action Plan to European Transport Commissioner Tajani designed tohelp deal with the economic downturn and to ensure that the private sector parts of the industry are able to compete on a more equitable basis.
HoR members emphasise the importance at this time to ensure that state aids to incumbent operators are prohibited, that investment in rail infrastructure is accelerated, that there is more efficient regulation particularly where there is a dominant incumbent, and that operating rules are made more market-oriented.
There is a real danger that member states may seek to preserve the monopoly positions of their incumbent operators to the detriment of the private sector, which has done so much to improve service quality and reliability.