Overview
The background to this project is the Directive proposal in the EU's II Railway Package, regarding the obligation of Member States to open up national rail freight traffic (including cabotage) to competition.
The purpose of this assignment was to clarify the implications of competition in national rail freight in Finland. Traffic between Finland and Russia was not included in the survey. Overall financial (money measurable) implications have not been evaluated.
Funding
Results
The railways' position in cargo traffic is well established. The market shares between the different forms of transportation remain reasonably unchanged. The increase in supply is not expected to bring more freight to the railways, and competition will not increase the total markets significantly. The presence of credible competition could somewhat reduce the average price of transportation. The number of competitors will remain very low. Customers support competition, because it improves their position when it comes to price negotiations.
Policy implications
The emergence of competition would be a rather tedious process. All parties would have time to adjust to the new situation. Allowing competition does not mean it will come about instantly - the barriers to entering the market are extremely high. From the Finnish national economy point of view, allowing competition and its emergence should not create significant implications.