Competitive Tendering in the Rail Passenger Transport Focusing to the Long Distance Lines

A fundamental step in the liberalisation of the rail freight market has been the separation of railway infrastructure managers from railway companies and consequently providing non-discriminatory access of the railway companies to railway infrastructure in all Member States. The partial liberalisation of the rail market in the European Union (EU) was already underway in 2010, when all European railway companies gained access to all railway infrastructures in the EU. Opening up the market to new private railway operators means that several transport operators can compete directly for selected lines at the same time. Given that passenger transport is a State instrument of transport, regional and social policy to provide transport services, it is still largely controlled by the State. The paper aims to the next step in liberalisation process. The opening up process of domestic rail passenger transport markets according to the fourth railway package has variety of level in Member States. This process is requested to done not later than 2019, while making public tenders for transport service contracts compulsory, in the public interest. The paper is focused to steps of tenders, implementation in long-distance rail passenger transport on the example of selected EU Member States and is more aimed on how the ordering of public services. There is need to analyze the technical and other obstacles and threats to the operation of long-distance rail services entering the competition. The idea is to meet the objectives of the EU White Paper on transport and The Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No. 1191/69 and 1107/70.