LESSONS FOR AMTRAK AND CONRAIL FROM RAILROADS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND FRANCE

The National Rail Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) was created in 1970 and the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) in 1976 as U.S. government sponsored corporations. They were designated, at the time, as being private, for profit. Such designation is by no means a unique American experience; many national railroads in Western Europe have used a similar provision. There has been a seemingly endless search for an institutional arrangement that provides balance between public control and corporate autonomy. Public corporate autonomy is essential for efficient railroad operation in a competitive and fast-changing transport industry, where boldness, speed and flexibility of business decision making are required. As latecomers to the business of government railroads, American authorities can benefit from studying European experiences. This paper examines how and to what extent the performance of national railroads is attributable to their institutional arrangements.