Structure of access charges for use of railway infrastructure for passenger and freight trains

Abstract

Charging system for use of Railway Infrastructure is one of the assumptions for introducing and opening of Rail Market and appearance of more traffic operators on it. European Union members had already introduced a charging system, but it is still early to generalize influence of Access Charges on market. Serbia is in the process of accession to the EU and issue of Access Charges will be one of the necessary conditions to apply. Therefore, recognition of the way of solving a charging system in European Countries for Serbian Railway and Serbia is important issue. How much should Structure of Access Charge be different for Passenger and Freight Trains due to the different market position and competitiveness of Passenger and Freight Traffic? In this paper will performed factors that influence on approach to choose structure for Access Charges, provide an overview and analysis how other countries in Europe choose Access Charge, and regarding that - their experiences.