NEW LABOUR, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND RAIL TRANSPORT POLICY

"The New Labour government has favoured the deployment of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to provide investment in transport infrastructure. The results of this policy on the railways have, however, been disappointing in terms of cost and efficiency. Public transport PPPs require complex contracts underpinned by regulatory mechanisms in order to maintain performance and safety standards. Moreover, risk transfer is difficult to achieve, as essential infrastructure cannot be left to the ultimate market discipline of bankruptcy." Copyright (c) 2009 The Author. Journal compilation (c) Institute of Economic Affairs 2009.