Search

The French government has agreed to open up its railroad industry to European companies and other foreign railroad freight operators. France would partially deregulate its railroad industry. This is considered a first step leading to eventual complete deregulation of the railroad system, or a system that allows two types of railroad networks.

Railroad Development Corporation ('RDC') is a privately held, Pittsburgh-based railway investment and management company, unique in its focus on the developing world. It currently has investments, as both operator and [...]

The deterioration of the railroad industry physical plant and financial performance during the 1960s and 1970s motivated the US Congress to substantially ease regulatory constraints on the industry through the passage of the Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (4-R Act) and the Staggers Rail Act of 1980. The purpose of this research is to estimate the impact of the 4-R Act and the Staggers Rail Act on the financial performance of the 24 Class I railroad firms that were operating in 1985. The results indicate that return on investment increased modestly from the 4-R to the Staggers years and that the profit margin, operating ratio and expense ratio deteriorated consistently over the three time periods analyzed. The impact of the financial ratios on return on investment and profit margin varied by ratio and model. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The impact of railroad rate deregulation on railroad prices is examined. In 1980, the Staggers Act gave railroads virtually unlimited freedom to establish their own rates. Because previous attempts to measure railroads' profitability using the rate of return have been shown to be inaccurate, the q ratio of a firm's market value to the cost of replacing its assets is used. Using this ratio to measure profitability, it is shown that competition is sufficient to keep railroads from charging monopolistic prices, and that the railroads have not been making supracompetitive profits since deregulation. Increased regulation of railroad rates is therefore unjustified.

This paper examines the debate surrounding the ICC's approach to maximum rates under deregulation. The existing approach of 'Constrained Market Pricing' is seriously flawed because of inappropriate application and inconsistent interpretation of several concepts such as stand-alone costs, contestable markets and revenue adequacy. The author advocates a 'Uniform Ratio Rule' to establish a maximum ceiling for rail freight rates for captive shippers. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Running a railroad isn't what it used to be. Almost five years after Congress deregulated the rails and propelled the carriers kicking and screaming into the late twentieth century, the [...]

TIME TO TEAR UP STAGGERS? It's something like a cricket match viewed through American eyes. The sport looks vaguely like baseball. But the playing field is wrong, the players are [...]

The Staggers Act of 1980 has started a wave of movement in the rail marketing industry. Railroads are now competing for traffic and service. Shippers now are providing service as never before. Door to door shipping is now an option as is traditional ramp to ramp.

Intermodal transportation, container-on-flatcar (COFC) and trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC),4 are only part of railroad revenues that are rising. Chief causes are high cost of diesel fuel and deregulation. Motor-carriers are turning to piggyback to reduce linehaul costs. Dedicated piggyback trains, devoted solely to TOFC-COFC units, are run by Conrail, Santa Fe, and others. UPS may be most innovative user of piggyback. Boxcar usage will continue to decrease.