Transforming a steam train: a historical institutionalist analysis of EU railway policy

The European Commission wants to transform the railways as part of its wider sustainable transport policy agenda. However, the railways provide territorial cohesion and public services at the national level with little on-track competition or international services. The Council has resisted the Commission’s attempt to transform the railways. This article uses historical institutionalism to analyse feedback loops in EU railway policymaking, specifically analysing how the issue of EU railway governance has influenced policy development and how Council discussions concerning the opening of the domestic passenger market reveals a temporal dimension in policy development. The article shows how the Council continues both to reduce the speed and change the direction of EU railway policymaking and that the adopted policies are ambiguous and create path dependency at the EU level while retaining national-level path dependency. The article demonstrates the close relationship between historical institutionalism and railway policy in favouring stability over transformation.