Applying the Life-Cycle Theory

The paper focuses on the market share decline of railway transport in developed countries. The paper starts with a basic analysis of economic history of railways. The idea of product life-cycle is then applied to interpret a long term economic development of railways. The decline of railways is understood as a period in a structural life-cycle of the industry. The key determinants of the decline are identified as road transport competition, changing patterns of the economy and railways internal inflexibility.