Rail Public Service Obligation (PSO)

Requirement defined or determined by a competent authority to provide public passenger transport services in the general interest that would not normally be provided by a railway undertaking following its own commercial interests. ‘Public service compensation’ means any benefit, particularly financial, granted directly or indirectly by a competent authority from public funds during the period of implementation of a PSO or in connection with that period. ‘Exclusive right’ means a right entitling a public service operator to operate certain public passenger transport services on a particular route or network or in a particular area to the exclusion of any other such operator.