Changing railway structure and ownership: Is anything working?

Railway structures are changing, with the old integrated monoliths slowly giving way to more complex structures, including forms of multiple access to infrastructure with the dominant user still in charge, and forms of more independent ownership of infrastructure with all authorized users being equal access tenants. At the same time, changes in ownership structure are being explored, from allowing some private operators on public facilities--and public operators on private facilities-to outright privatization. In all cases, concomitant changes, particularly labour restructuring, are emerging as critical. What are the approaches available, where are they being tried and are they working? There is actually a wide range of different experiments, some in surprising places, with changes in structure or in ownership, sometimes both at the same time. Mixed answers are emerging that work (better, if not perfectly). The problem of labour can be addressed as well. Although there is no fixed recipe for success, the issues are beginning to be better understood and useful alternative approaches are emerging that improve, but which do not guarantee, the chances of survival of the rail mode.