The opportunities and risks associated with privatizing railways in Latin America

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cepal.bibLevelDocumento Completo
cepal.callNumberINT UN/TR 8(134/1997)
cepal.divisionEngNatural Resources and Infrastructure Division
cepal.divisionSpaDivisión de Recursos Naturales e Infraestructura
cepal.docTypeBoletines
cepal.idSade5125
cepal.topicEngINFRASTRUCTURE
cepal.topicEngLOGISTICS AND MOBILITY
cepal.topicSpaINFRAESTRUCTURA
cepal.topicSpaLOGÍSTICA Y MOVILIDAD
cepal.workareaEngNATURAL RESOURCES
cepal.workareaSpaRECURSOS NATURALES
dc.coverage.spatialEngLATIN AMERICA
dc.coverage.spatialSpaAMERICA LATINA
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-20T01:31:40Z
dc.date.available2014-03-20T01:31:40Z
dc.date.issued1997-06
dc.description.abstractMost railways in Latin America were built by private firms, often foreign owned. Over time, owing to a combination of nationalizations and competition from road transport, virtually all railways passed into government hands; the railroad industry became more and more of a white elephant for the Government because of the ever-increasing subsidies it swallowed up, its dwindling role in national economies, and a conviction that Governments should not be involved in productive activities. Consequently, the late 1980s saw the start of a trend towards denationalization of railways, with the latter being turned over to private, often foreign, interests. In this way, the railway industry in Latin America has come full circle in the space of 150 years. So far, there has not been any assessment of the recent privatization of railways in Latin America. However, the conclusion would probably be that: (i) privatization has on the whole been successful, and (ii) the results achieved would have been more positive still, had some things been done slightly differently. One problem is that the bidding process has failed to take into account the positive externalities associated with railways, such as the contribution they make to reducing road maintenance costs and environmental damage caused by road transport. Another unresolved issue is whether to put the entire railway system up for tender, or to invite separate bids for infrastructure and services. Economies of scale operate in the railway industry, favouring the existence of a number of rail companies. In the past, the railway companies of neighbouring countries such as Argentina and Paraguay, and Bolivia and Chile, enjoyed ties at director level, but these came to an end with the nationalization of railways. Now that the era of State involvement is itself drawing to a close, we can expect to see the formation of integrated railway systems, one of which might extend from Quijarro, on the border between Bolivia and Brazil, to Puerto Montt in the south of Chile.
dc.formatTexto
dc.format.extent7 páginas.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11362/36318
dc.language.isoeng
dc.physicalDescription7 p.
dc.publisherECLAC
dc.publisher.placeSantiago
dc.relation.isPartOfSeriesFAL Bulletin
dc.relation.isPartOfSeriesNo134
dc.relation.translationLanguagespa
dc.relation.translationRecordLas oportunidades y los riesgos en la privatización ferroviaria latinoamericana.
dc.relation.translationUrihttps://hdl.handle.net/11362/36012
dc.subject.unbisEngRAILWAYS
dc.subject.unbisEngPHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
dc.subject.unbisEngPRIVATIZATION
dc.subject.unbisEngRAILWAY TRANSPORT
dc.subject.unbisSpaFERROCARRILES
dc.subject.unbisSpaINFRAESTRUCTURA FISICA
dc.subject.unbisSpaPRIVATIZACION
dc.subject.unbisSpaTRANSPORTE FERROVIARIO
dc.titleThe opportunities and risks associated with privatizing railways in Latin America
dc.type.coarpublicación seriada
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