ABSTRACT
More is less in central Eastern Europe more train kilometres would result in less losses within a matter of months, as long as changes are managed professionally, part of a long-term transport policy aiming at the integration of transport modes. The art of optimising performance levels is a balancing act, as interdependences within the system must be adequately considered and weighed. Besides inappropriate performance cuts, another classic misjudgement is overrating the savings potential of downsizing the network. The passenger railways of the central Eastern European region continue to face problems that the West confronted years before. Typical of the situation is that rail becomes less competitive due to the general availability and flexibility of individual road transport as well as cheap air transport, ageing infrastructure and rolling stock, more or less constant decline in passenger numbers, and corporate losses on the rise partly caused by restrictions due to excessive deficits of national budgets.
