This study evaluates the scale efficiency (SE) of passenger railway operators in Austria and Czechia between 2015 and 2019, aiming to understand the impact of liberalization on sectoral performance. Using an input-oriented Slack-Based Measure (SBM) Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model under Variable Returns to Scale (VRS), the research analyzed financial and operational data from ORBIS and MagnusWeb databases for both incumbent and non-incumbent companies. Results reveal a consistent pattern: national incumbents, OBB Personenverkehr AG (Austria) and Ceske drahy, a.s. (Czechia), exhibited significant and persistent scale inefficiencies, averaging 35.39% and 51.54% SE respectively. This indicates they operate below their optimal scale, likely due to decreasing returns to scale. In stark contrast, several private and regional operators in both countries consistently achieved perfect or near-perfect SE, demonstrating optimal alignment with the Most Productive Scale Size (MPSS). For example, CityRail, RegioJet (Czechia), Montafonerbahn AG, and WESTbahn Management GmbH (Austria) maintained 100% SE. While Austria's overall sector showed higher average efficiency and resilience due to a broader base of well-performing non-incumbents, the Czech sector exhibited greater volatility among smaller operators, though it showed an improving trend by 2019. The findings suggest that railway liberalization, while fostering efficiency among new entrants, has not uniformly resolved the deepseated inefficiencies of incumbents. Achieving true sectoral efficiency requires structural reforms beyond mere market access, addressing issues such as governance, subsidies, and regulatory oversight.

This article aims two EU member countries (i.e. Portugal and Germany) from different regions in Europe which have, for decades, been following common strategies regarding HSR development. The authors discuss the economic profitability vs. political aims, which were related to rail modernization. The text outlines the historic background of early railway construction, important milestones for a new level of rail planning in the 1980s and 1990s in both Portugal and Germany and delays in the realization of HSR projects, their rising costs, and the opposition of the public against the new lines. The experience of the countries under scope serves as an example for other EU members who have plans to take part in the Trans-European Transport Network.

During Angela Merkel's term as Chancellor, Germany did not play a leading role in the realm of security and defense; moreover, estrangement with the German government's allies based on its attitude towards Putin's Russia slowly grew. Since Russia's war against Ukraine began, the situation has changed dramatically. This article will show the different reactions of the Visegrad 4 (V4) countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary) to the Zeitenwende [turning point] in Germany, focusing on Germany ' s relationship with Russia, its energy security policy, defense, and support for Ukraine. The question is whether Germany is shaping the Zeitenwende into a 180 degrees turnaround in policy or a 360 degrees pirouette resulting in continuity of its former policies and further mutual loss of trust. Germany is unlikely to become a pre-eminent military leader but can make positive contributions if it implements the Zeitenwende and regains the trust of its eastern partners.

This paper investigates the transport policy development and characteristics of the Austrian passenger transport sector from the 1950s onwards. The analysed performance indicators deal with the three most prevalent modes of transport (cars, trains and airplanes) and are linked to independent decision-making units (passengers) and their motives (price, quality and time to destination) as well as to goals and decisions involved in government policies. In this theoretical framework, we identified three developmental phases, using an interdisciplinary approach to assess the development of three variables of interest (number of car, air and train passengers). In the long term, transport policy aimed to solve the rigidity and lack of vision in train transport and the extensive use of cars. Air transport was a steadily growing segment in a close and positive relationship with trains, which is in line with the transport political orientation towards Vienna Airport and train connections to the capital city. The post-war phase (1945–1970) was characterised by enormous growth in the number of cars, an upswing in air transport and stagnant train transport. The second phase (1970–1994) was defined by a progressive liberalisation of rail transport and a plan to balance the growth rates of car, train and airplane performance variables. Finally, in the 1995–2019 phase, the growth in train transport increased; however, this growth remained far below the growth rates of air and car performance variables. Transport policy achievements and shortcomings for future research are suggested.

In the Czech Republic, the use of individual transportation has increased massively over the past 30 years. This has been accompanied by a greater flexibility in cargo transport. As a result of structural changes in industry, cargo also moved from rail to road. Both of these shifts led to congestion on the roads and a deterioration of living standards in cities and along highways. The state reacted by expanding the network of roads, for which it primarily used EU funds. Rail traffic slumped. Only since a rail reform in the early 2000s have passenger numbers begun to grow again. The railway is efficient. Despite the massive increase in truck traffic, rail's share of cargo traffic is up by a good quarter when compared with the rest of Europe. Transportation by water has played almost no role so far. In aviation, the strong growth that arose due to cheap flights to tourist destinations has slumped as a result of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic. There is no sign of an ecological about-face in this trend.

International railway passenger services have seen considerable changes in Europe over the past few decades. Using international railway connections within and reaching outside the V4 countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) in 1990?2019 as a sample, our paper explores trends and patterns in that matter in Central Europe. We have found that the characteristic focus on relatively very frequent short or medium-distance connections using the best equipped railway corridors ? paralleled by a considerable reduction of the remaining services ? has also been clearly in evidence in this part of the world. However, trends and patterns in Central Europe are not necessarily a mirror image of what has occurred in Western Europe. For instance, although a considerable shortening of travel times has indeed been observed, it has been achieved ? characteristically ? thanks to the improved permeability of state borders after the enlargement of the EU in 2004, with only moderate improvements to infrastructure being made. Central Europe therefore seems to be the prime example of an area in which contextual, political and geopolitical factors are the keys to understanding the dynamics of changes in transport systems. On the other hand, evidence from this region may give rise to some reflections on the possible roles for the European long-distance rail transport in the future. To begin with, our results show 800 km to be the threshold beyond which the competitive position of rail becomes significantly lower. Secondly, competitive pressure from innovative newcomers (Regiojet, LeoExpress, Arriva) clearly makes national incumbents more flexible and pro-active. Thirdly, the noticeable spatial re-orientation of international railway connections from the V4 countries towards Vienna and Munich (at the expense of Berlin) that we have observed is partly related to the appeal of these cities as multimodal gates with excellent locations within European transport networks. It would therefore seem that the railways in this part of Europe have been attempting to become an integral part of the international multi-modal long-distance transport system.

In the Czech Republic, the use of individual transportation has increased massively over the past 30 years. This has been accompanied by a greater flexibility in cargo transport. As a result of structural changes in industry, cargo also moved from rail to road. Both of these shifts led to congestion on the roads and a deterioration of living standards in cities and along highways. The state reacted by expanding the network of roads, for which it primarily used EU funds. Rail traffic slumped. Only since a rail reform in the early 2000s have passenger numbers begun to grow again. The railway is efficient. Despite the massive increase in truck traffic, rail’s share of cargo traffic is up by a good quarter when compared with the rest of Europe. Transportation by water has played almost no role so far. In aviation, the strong growth that arose due to cheap flights to tourist destinations has slumped as a result of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic. There is no sign of an ecological about-face in this trend.

Souhrnna výzkumna zprava se zaměřuje na možnosti a definici využiti zbytkových signalizacnich dat mobilnich operatorů (tzv. big data) pro přesnějsi monitoring, analýzu a predikci dopravniho chovani obyvatelstva. Rozvoj telekomunikacnich technologii a penetrace spolecnosti mobilnimi telefony umožňuje využit sledovani pohybu mobilnich telefonů pro stanoveni mocnosti dopravnich proudů. Tato technologie doplni stavajici standardni datovou zakladnu postavenou na scitani, dotaznikovem setřeni a datech ze scitani obyvatel. Soubory big data s sebou nesou kromě robustni kvantitativni informace (např. pocet cest) take nezanedbatelne informace kvalitativni (např. opakovani cest, delka pobytu v destinaci, misto předpokladaneho bydlistě cestovatele, apod.). V kombinaci s vhodným dotaznikovým setřenim tak může být zpřesněno urceni stavajiciho dopravniho proudu a z toho vychazejici odhad budouciho dopravniho proudu při vybudovani přislusných infrastrukturnich staveb, což povede ke zpřesněni odhadu využiti hospodarnosti vynaloženi veřejných prostředků.

The article deals with the state of the railway sector in a centrally planned economy in Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s. It compares the “to-be” position of the Czechoslovak state railway with the real situation in the railway sector. The Czechoslovak railway sector changed a lot during the two analysed decades – it lost its superior position to road transport and showed evident signs of stagnation, even though a big part of economy was dependent on the railway transport. The position of railway transportation had weakened within the two decades and the country lost its stage by stage initiative in modernisation of the railway sector. The railway sector lost its pre-1970s sovereignty in transport and had become more dependent on the general situation of the Czechoslovak economy. It was the reason for stagnation as a result of development of the railway sector in late socialism in Czechoslovakia.

Metodika stanovi inovativni postup k analýze a zhodnoceni potencialu zamýslených regionalnich terminalů vysokorychlostnich trati. Oproti standardnim dopravnim modelům vychazi i z dalsich faktorů ovlivňujicich ochotu nabizenou novou mobilitu na vysokorychlostni trati využit ze strany obyvatelstva, jako je rozsah spadoveho regionu terminalu, jeho napojeni na veřejnou dopravu, ekonomicka sila regionu, (ekonomicka) přitažlivost na vysokorychlostni trať napojených center, ci cena za nabizenou přepravni službu.

Kriticka oponentura pilotaže metodiky na veřejnem workshopu projektu (XII. Seminař Telc 2017) v Univerzitnim centru MU v Telci; představeni pilotni verze metodiky a prezentace jejiho využiti na přikladu regionu Velkeho Meziřici.

Výsledna shrnujici studie sestavena na zakladě řizených rozhovorů. Studie byla předana a oponovana na internim workshopu řesitelskeho týmu.

Kniha se věnuje vývoji železnicniho odvětvi v Německu v poslednich desetiletich, kdy země prosla zcela zasadni reformou vcetně liberalizace trhu. Vznikla v ramci sirsi edice Železnicni reformy a sleduje jak teoretický pohled, tak i prakticke přiklady z vybraných evropských zemi. Publikace kombinuje pohledy historicko-politicke, geograficke a pravni. Ukazuje politicke zasady stavajici železnicni reformy vcetně dopadů německeho znovusjednoceni v roce 1990, charakterizuje dopravně-geografickou situaci, zabýva se jejim pravnim ramcem a dale vybranými problemy, ktere vyvstaly v jejim průběhu. Přes prokazatelný uspěch reformy železnicniho odvětvi v Německu stale vznikaji sporne oblasti, a hledani řeseni tak zůstava kontinualnim procesem.

Cilem seminaře bylo diskutovat možnosti posuzovani opodstatněnosti mezilehlých stanic na vysokorychlostnich tratich (VRT) z hlediska ekonomickeho, geografickeho i politickeho. Soucasti programu byla i panelova diskuse na tema „Ex post CBA infrastrukturnich projektů“.

The European transport strategy promotes the role of railways whereas the key role in passenger transport should be played by high speed lines (HSL). While the core network of high speed lines has already been built up and operated in Western Europe, there Central and Eastern Europe. The region thus offers opportunities for new HSL investment. On the other hand, the construction of HSL is very capitalintensive. Besides that the economic level of Central and Eastern European countries is much lower than in their Therefore, there is a question where and when it is worth to build up HSL in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.

This article focuses on the development of the Czechoslovak 'rychla tramvaj' ('fast tram') systems in Prague, Bratislava and Brno. Its aim is to examine whether these systems meet the requirements of light rail and whether it is possible to continue their development as a functional light rail city transport system. A further aim is a detailed analysis of the conditions and contexts affecting the gradual development of 'rychla tramvaj' schemes in three selected metropolises in the former Czechoslovakia.Urban development in Czechoslovakia was affected by the socialist planning system that constructed large housing estates on the edges of metropolises during the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, many commuters had to be moved between them and city centres daily; therefore, the necessity for high-capacity 'rychla tramvaj' connections became apparent. After socio-political changes in 1989, a market economy was introduced and the trends of commercial and residential suburbanization have modified the spatial structure of the cities, and mobility has begun to be increasingly dependent on cars. In response to this, city councils departed from further development of 'rychla tramvaj' schemes. Currently, the emphasis on sustainable mobility is apparent principally because of smart city solutions, an environmental focus and a common European transport policy; thus, municipalities are rediscovering the virtues of light rail lines again. Because the 'rychla tramvaj' systems from the 1970s and 1980s are still in operation, transforming them into modem light rail systems appears to be a convenient and cheap solution. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On a traditional autumn date, 6 and 7 November 2014, the Department of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Administration of the Masaryk University in Brno in cooperation with the Institute of International Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Charles University in Prague (both Czech Republic) organized 9th Telc Seminar, which took place in the University Centre of the Masaryk University in Telc (Czech Republic). The main topic of the seminar, supported by a grant by Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, was Standards of Transport Services – Central Strategy versus Regional Priorities. The second part of the seminar consisted of a panel discussion aimed at defining standards of regional transport; moderated by Martin Kvizda and Daniel Seidenglanz (both Masaryk University Brno) and featured Miroslav Marada (Charles University Prague; focusing on transport geography), Petr Psenicka (SŽDC - Railway Infrastructure Administration), Lumir Pecený (University of Žilina; focusing on transport engineering), and Tomas Pospisil (CD – Czech Railways Inc.). As a follow-up of a foregoing discussion, several basic issues were opened which gave rise to a lively discussion in which not only panel speakers engaged, but other participants in the seminar, too: Which type of transport needs should be serviced by subsidized regional transport? What should be the spatial definition of regional transport? Which is the optimum temporal standard of regional transport? What does a suitable party ordering regional transport look like? How to co-ordinate regional transport with its long-distance counterpart?

The article analyses railway transport markets in three neighbouring Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany (specifically Bavaria and Saxony), with a focus on regional transportation. It examines the organisational form of public transport resulting from regionalisation and provides comparative case studies of regional train services in these countries. The article points out the organisational differences in public transportation between the studied regions and tries to connect these results with the supply of regional train services on various types of lines and in different geographical areas.

Metodika představuje komplexni pohled na nabidkova řizeni a jejim cilem je identifikovat hlavni problematicke oblasti a navrhnout jejich prakticke řeseni. Uvodni cast (1) je věnovana hlavnim doporucenim pro zadavatele nabidkových řizeni v CR formou executive summary. Legislativni ramec nabidkových řizeni vcetně jeho budouci změny představuje rozsiřený uvod (2). V nasledujici kapitole P1 se metodika zaměřuje na geografický rozsah soutěžených celků a v P2 na delku kontraktů. Zavěrem je uvedeno několik konkretnich přikladů, kterým je při vypisovani podminek nabidkových řizeni třeba věnovat pozornost a jejichž zohledněnim vede výběr dodavatelů k optimalizaci přinosu nabidkových řizeni pro objednatele (P3).