Example 1: Armenia – Concession contract for the transfer of the Armenian railway system to the “South Caucasian Railway” Concluded Joint-Stock Company of “Russian Railways” Open Limited Company – Concession Agreement between the Republic of Armenia (“Concedent”), the Southern Caucasus (“concession”) and the Russian railways (“guarantor”) for the modernization and operation of the Armenian railways. The concession agreement stipulates that the concessionaire must allow other operators to access the rail network in accordance with the laws of Armenia. Example 5: Brazil – Mining-Related Railway Concession – Concession agreement between the Brazilian state and a consortium of several mining companies. The concession agreement grants the concession to the concession for a 30-year concession for the development and operation of a 1,674 km rail line, which serves as a freight link to the main ports in the region. The concession agreement provides for access to a certain volume of local passenger transport (9.1 XX). The dealer is also required to exploit “mutual traffic” (i.e. to grant reciprocal access rights to other rail operators). If the dealer is unable to operate “mutual traffic,” it must enter into track access agreements with third-party users. These contracts must be subject to the agreeing authority in order to avoid the abuse of economic power (9.1 XXII). The contractual form of a concession contract can also be used to grant transport rights for a longer period of time. An example is the Model Concession Agreement (MCA) for PPP in Container Train Operation Example 8: Review of Selected Rail Concessions in Sub-Saharan Africa – World Bank Report, 2006 – Appendix C of the report contains a comparative revision of the contractual clauses relating to third-party access to the tracks for various concession/farming agreements [Camrail (Cameroon), Sitarail (Ivory Coast – Burkina Faso), Mada (Madagascar) and Transrail (Senegal and Mali)].

The right to use lanes for a defined period of time may also be part of a concession (or franchise) agreement. These agreements generally combine the construction, maintenance and operation of a rail network and involve considerable investment. As a result, they grant the railway manager the right to operate certain networks or lines for a longer period than access agreements and often grant exclusivity to the railway operator. Example 6: Peru – Contract de Concesién de los Ferrocarriles del Sur y Sur Oriente (Spanish) – Concession contract between the Peruvian state and a private body (Ferrocaril Transandino S.A.) that provides the concession of the southern (Matarani/Mollendo to Cusco) and south-east (Cusco to Machu Pichu) railway lines. The duration of the concession is 30 years (extendable). The consenting authority entrusts the dealer with the right to use goods and vehicles for passenger and freight services. The dealership`s main obligations include upgrading and remediation of rail infrastructure (including signalling and telecommunications systems), refurbishing rolling stock and improving operational performance. The concessionaire is required to grant open access to other rail operators on a non-discriminatory basis and for payment of a track access fee. Connection charges must be approved by the regulator. For more information on the rail access agreement agreed for this network, please visit this website. Concessions (or franchise agreements) may also be relevant to the broader theme of access to the track, where they require the dealer to grant access to other operators for the payment of an access fee.

Example 3: United Kingdom – Channel Tunnel Link (High Speed 1) – Concession agreement between the Secretary of State for Transport and High Speed 1 Limited (HS 1 Limited).