Prior to the directive most countries had (and quite a few still have) a rail system similar to that in the UK prior to Privatisation where the infrastructure company and the operator was one and the same. The idea of the directive was to engender competition across the rail networks of Europe by providing open access to the tracks. In the quarter century since it was introduced the directive has singularly failed in this objective in at least three major EU countries. France has no competitive train operators, with SNCF being the only operator of any significance – a situation that will remain for at least ten more years. Germany has made a token, half-hearted move towards competition. In Italy the single operator is a “private” company (whilst being 100% owned by the government).
The UK, of course, complied with the directive in full in both spirit and practice and, as usual, went considerably further than was required. It is doubtful if the privatisation of the railways would have been undertaken the way it was had the directive not been in force.
Without a doubt the most successful period for the railways in the UK was between 1923 and 1939. In 1923 the dozens of small railway companies that had been born in the railway building era were grouped into the “Big Four” (Southern, LMS, LNER and GWR). These companies owned and maintained the track, built and operated the trains and did a lot more besides. WW2 obviously intervened and by 1945 the railways were in a state of disrepair from the ravages and pressures of war. Nationalisation was the only realistic way forward at that time.
The way things are set up at present there are three groups of organisations taking a cut of the fares and subsidies – the infrastructure operator, the train operators and the rolling stock companies (the “ROSCOs”). It is clearly a nonsense for train operators to be dependent to such a degree on organisations over whom they have no control and where there is no alternative to them. If full renationalisation is not to take place (and I have mixed feelings as to which this should be desirable) then a reorganisation to bring the industry back to something along the lines of the Big Four may possibly be an improvement.