Based on extensive qualitative research, this article analyzes the governance of competition in European railways and relates this to their performance via five case studies covering the Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden and the UK. Even though some trends can be identified, such as regionalization, system fragmentation, and the strengthening of the regulatory function, each country's governance appears to be a type of its own, with a unique relationship between governance and railway performance. (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.