5. Challenges and changes

5.1 Traffic trends

Rail transport has lost market share in recent years. It has not even managed to stabilize its volume of business in a growing market (figure 14 ). Added to this is a steady decline in transport prices, which rail transport has so far been unable to compensate for with at least equivalent productivity. Since the beginning of the decade, all national rail companies have been engaged in major restructuring policies, in order to regain room for manoeuvre and adapt to the new competitive situation.