Summary - TST 27
TRANSPORTES, SERVICIOS Y TELECOMUNICACIONES
Alberto MÜLLER
Vidas (no tan) paralelas: las reformas ferroviarias de Estados Unidos y Argentina
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Key Words:
Freight railways, regulatory reforms, Argentina, United
States.
[ Abstract ]
Both the United States and Argentina undertook deep reforms in their intercity rail systems (in the 1980’s and the 1990’s). With some different nuances, the motivation was that their current operation seemed to be not sustainable. The starting points for the reforms were clearly different. In the United States, freight railroads were run by the private sector, but under strict regulations; in Argentina, railways were state owned, under a deregulated frame. In both cases there were significant changes in terms of traffic and business organization. The outcomes were however different: the American rail freight is clearly sustainable, while the Argentina’s freight is not, and indeed, nearly half of the rail network is now back in state hands. We point as an explanation for these different results the highest density of traffic in the United States. Furthermore, the higher average transport distance of the latter allows a separate market from the truck’s, while in Argentina truck and railways compete for the same traffic.
[ Abstract ]
Both the United States and Argentina undertook deep reforms in their intercity rail systems (in the 1980’s and the 1990’s). With some different nuances, the motivation was that their current operation seemed to be not sustainable. The starting points for the reforms were clearly different. In the United States, freight railroads were run by the private sector, but under strict regulations; in Argentina, railways were state owned, under a deregulated frame. In both cases there were significant changes in terms of traffic and business organization. The outcomes were however different: the American rail freight is clearly sustainable, while the Argentina’s freight is not, and indeed, nearly half of the rail network is now back in state hands. We point as an explanation for these different results the highest density of traffic in the United States. Furthermore, the higher average transport distance of the latter allows a separate market from the truck’s, while in Argentina truck and railways compete for the same traffic.