High-Speed progress: how liberalization is shaping rail in Europe

VTM Senior Associate Director Miguel Sena e Silva delivered a keynote presentation at the Transportes&Negócios 2025 Railway Transport Seminar, held in Oporto on May 15, 2025. The session brought together stakeholders from across the rail sector to explore opportunities, challenges, and future trends in railway transport.

In this presentation, titled “Liberalization of Passenger Rail Transport: The High-Speed Rail Cases of Italy and Spain”, Miguel examined how liberalization has transformed high-speed rail (HSR) in both Italy and Spain. Drawing from robust market data and internal case studies, he highlighted the positive impact of competition on service quality, ticket pricing, and modal shift in long-distance travel.

Key takeaways included:

• Italy’s pioneering role in European rail liberalization, where open-access competition between Trenitalia and private operator Italo led to a 30% reduction in average fares between 2011 and 2016, and increased passenger demand.
• Spain’s staged liberalization, initiated in 2020, resulted in significant growth in ridership on major corridors (e.g., Madrid–Barcelona saw passenger numbers rise by 80% vs. 2019) and fare reductions of up to 40%.
• Insights into the regulatory models employed, infrastructure investment strategies, and the interplay between liberalization and modal choice on relevant corridors.

The session concluded with a reflection on Portugal’s upcoming high-speed rail projects, noting how international liberalization experiences could inform future policy and infrastructure decisions domestically.