Competition in regional passenger rail transport in Germany (Leipzig) and lessons to be drawn for France

The opening to competition in Germany's regional railway transport is interesting to investigate as some EU countries find it difficult to move towards the implementation of European Union Guidelines. In this paper, we investigate Leipzig's regional passenger railway services opening to competition between 2009 and 2013, time when Leipzig's new underground City Tunnel was opened within a new transport plan. We will assess costs structure of operating regional railway passenger transport before and after competition. We will show that the introduction of competition in Leipzig region has reduced the level of subsidy by 20% and improved productivity of the incumbent operator.