EUROPE: The German Centre for Rail Traffic Research, DZSF, has appointed a consortium of Railistics, SSP Consult Beratende Ingenieure and Innofact to study how European night train services can be developed by increasing their attractiveness and reducing the barriers to market entry.
DZSF notes that establishing ‘a demand-oriented night train service on a European level can only succeed if market entry and participation are possible without barriers and if economic operation can be carried out’.
The three-year Competitive Framework and Market Conditions in European Night Train Traffic project will have six work packages.
WP1 will examine previous and existing overnight services and the stakeholders involved.
WP2 will build on this to develop a detailed assessment of the current competitive framework and identify the criteria that determine success.
WP3 will involve a series of interviews with stakeholders to identify other elements affecting the success of services.
The results from the first three work packages will be used in WP4 to develop legal, operational, infrastructure, organisational and political proposals targeted at the relevant stakeholder groups.
WP5 will examine the feasibility and likely effectiveness of these measures. The findings will then be used to develop definitive recommendations for development and optimisation of the night train market in WP6.
The results of the study will then serve as a basis for advising decision-makers on further development of the European night train market.
