DEFINING AND ASSESSMENT OF CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF RAILWAY UNDERTAKING

Abstract

The main objective of the European policy of rail transport is the development of a single railway area. The opening of railway sector to market competition impose that railway undertakings behave like any other modern enterprises in other markets and in other industries. It means, they must constantly develop and maintain competitive advantages, and be better than others. In today's very intense competition conditions this is the most difficult to achieve. The railway undertakings are challenged to find optimal solutions to operate efficiently and effectively, in order not only to survive on the transport market, but also to develop and maintain a competitive advantage. A wide range of criteria can be studied when it comes to the efficiency of railway undertakings. The aim of this study is to define and evaluate the criteria that influence the efficiency of railway undertakings and increasing of their competitive ability and to propose a model for the evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of railway undertakings in order to increase the competitive ability.