Railways Restructuring and Ukrainian Economic Reform
AbstractIf the Ukrainian economy is to be successfully restructured going forward, a restructured railway system will have to be part of the picture. This paper begins with a discussion of the crucial role that the Ukrainian railway plays in the Ukrainian economy. We follow with a survey of the world experience with railways restructuring: a large number of countries have already undertaken the task of converting sagging government-owned monopoly railways into more dynamic and competitive transport enterprises, and their experience in very diverse settings may have important lessons to offer. We then examine the current state of rail reform plans in Ukraine. We conclude with discussions of alternative paths forward that seem most likely to be successful in Ukraine, based on both the experience elsewhere and the country’s current situation.