Back on Track: The institutional and financial underpinnings of rail travelling

The project aims to examine the institutional, organizational and financial matters affecting the development of passenger rail in Norway and internationally, and help strengthen TØI expertise and national/international networks in the area. During this period, the project has published three articles in level 2 journals; one in level 1 journal; two articles are accepted for European anthologies. In addidtion we have submitted three papers to journals for ongoing reviews, whilst presented papers at seceral scientific conferences; written popular science articles and given several user-oriented presentations. We have also arranged a railway seminar with 73 external participants from various stakeholders in Norway. The project has also made it possible to participate in the annual research forum Florence School of transport regulation, as well as ECTRI, and the international network is large. Three themes have been central in this reporting period: Transferability of new forms of financing for public infrastructure; decentralization and commercialization of passenger rail; and management of public transport at the regional level. In addition, we have published two articles on the risks and uncertainties associated with investing and planning of new transport infrastructure. Transferability of new forms of financing in public transport is discussed in the article "Policy Transfer of Public Transportation Funding Schemes: The case of Norway" (Olsen and Fearnley 2014). The article discusses under what conditions a form of financing can be transferred from one country to another. The article presents various alternative forms of financing used to fund public transport internationally, and categorizes each form of funding arrangement according to the barriers they meet in order to be used in the Norwegian context. Railway decentralization and commercialization are discussed in the book chapter "Commercialization and managerial independence" (Olsen, Krogstad and Fearnley, 2015). The chapter provides insight on how the change towards market orientation has affected the managerial autonomy of rail companies. EU legislation has initiated changes in competition and ownership structures, moving away from significant state intervention towards more autonomous entities and private-sector involvement. While these regulations have commercialized the sector, they also pose organizational restraints for rail companies, through specifications of requirements that the undertakings are obliged to follow. There are also considerable differences from one EU country to another in the degree to which new measures have been introduced. The study concludes that there is an increasing complexity in the rail sector, where actor interaction takes place on multiple organizational levels. Management of public transport at the regional level are discussed in the paper "Arm's length as a root of conflict: Experiences from Norwegian local public transport." (Leiren and Krogstad 2014). The article is based on the national and international trend of introducing professional transport agencies when procuring public transport services. This in turn creates challenges related to political governance and democratic transparency in decision-making processes. This paper discusses these challenges based on empirical material from Norwegian counties. Risk and uncertainty in transport infrastructure investments is partly discussed in the article "Managing risk and irreversibility of transport interventions" (Ramjerdi and Fearnley 2014) and partly in "A process for designing policy packaging: ideals and realities" (jsut, Fearnley, Givoni and Macmillan 2014). The content of both articles is presented in previous reports. As an extension of the work above, we have also produced popular articles and lectures affecting rail transport development in Norway. The popular science article "European backdrop for innovation for Norwegian railways" (Krogstad 2013) shows how the organization of the Norwegian railway differs from other European countries and the consequences this may have. This is also discussed in the article "Should the responsibility for local trains in Oslo and Akershus be transferred to Ruter" (Krogstad 2014), where examples from organisational solutions in Europe are used to discuss strengths/weaknesses of transferring responsibility for parts of the railway from state to regional administrative levels. This has also been presented in lectures for the Ministry of Transport and Communication in conjunction with its ongoing work on railway reforms in Norway, and lectured on the Norwegian Railway Forum 2014, as well as for the Danish Public Transport forum 2015.

The climate challenges have put rail transportation back on the top of the political agenda all over Europe. This raises several questions in the Norwegian context: To what extent and under what circumstances are the international experiences transferable to the Norwegian context? What factors influence rail demand and social costs, and how can these be exploited? Do traditional models for financing rail transport enhance or hamper effective railway investments? The SIS combines knowledge of travel behav ior and effects of policy measures with knowledge of institutional reforms and changing conditions for goal achievement. The overall objective is to produce knowledge that enhances the efficiency, flexibility and reliability of rail transportation in ways that promote it as an integrated part of a sustainable transport system in Norway. The SIS will enhance and synthesise policy-relevant knowledge on rail transport, construct a theoretical and empirical basis for future development of the Norwegian railwa y sector, and point out needs for further research in the field. Four empirical research areas are addressed: Institutional reforms and separation processes; market access and service procurement; financing railways; market analyses and transport foreca sting. Analytical approaches include institutional analyses of decision making processes and policies, combined with transport modelling and analysis of register data. Theoretically, the SIS will combine theories of individual travel behaviour and motiv ation with institutional approaches towards decision making processes and policy making. The SIS is interdisciplinary within the realm of social sciences (economics, political science, sociology), and a collaboration between all four TOI departments, lea d by the OI department.