ABSTRACT
The experience between the wars was very similar to that of Great Britain economic turbulences and the rise of road transport. Rail transport was, somewhat paradoxically, hit particularly hard by the first oil price shock. The transport systems in Great Britain and Switzerland have much in common in their history. The same changes in the organisation of road freight transport can be observed in Great Britain and in Switzerland. International transport naturally plays a much more important role in centrally located Switzerland. Both in Great Britain and in Switzerland, it seems that the railways have hit the bottom of their decline. Public and private owners in both countries are investing about as much in the railways as in road infrastructure, after according privileges to roads for decades. If the railways become again important suppliers of goods transport services, this will force governments to face again the question of competition.
