What is the scale of public subsidies received by rail passenger operators in Europe, and how has this public support evolved across different European countries between 2016 and 2022 ?

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine the extent of public subsidies provided to passenger rail operators across various European countries and to analyze the evolution of this financial support. In light of recent developments in the European railway market, the thesis seeks to shed light on an often overlooked aspect of the market. The complexity of this research lies in the availability and accessibility of data related to subsidies. To address this challenge, we present an estimation method for the relevant data for each European country, as well as a methodology in order to group the European countries. The study concludes that drawing comprehensive conclusions is difficult due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the diverse approaches each European country takes regarding subsidies for passenger rail operators, as well as the differing methodologies used for calculating these subsidies.