The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 18 September 2007, decided to launch an investigation into Ferrovie dello Stato S.p.A. and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana S.p.A. over the alleged abuse of their dominant position.

According to the Antitrust Authority's information, FS and RFI, in a concerted strategy, seem to be trying to hinder the operations of rail companies competing with Trenitalia (controlled by FS) or even exclude them from the market for the supply of rail freight services.

The investigation arose from a number of complaints lodged by Trenitalia's competitors to whom RFI no longer allowed a discount known as “K2”: this is a reduction in the fee for the use of rail infrastructure applied because the technological backwardness of the network and regulatory inadequacies mean it is not possible to use just one engine-driver.

Specifically, RFI, the monopoly manager of almost the whole national network, disallowed the K2 discount from June 2004 on the stretches of track where it had already made the needed investments on the ground, without taking into account that precisely because it had not published the necessary technical rules, Trenitalia's competitors could not operate with a single engine-driver.

In August 2007, furthermore, after the private railways had applied the discount for themselves as a result of a number of favourable pronouncements by the TAR [Regional Administrative Tribunal], RFI demanded the sums be paid on pain of cancellation of the contract.

In the Antitrust Authority's view, this exclusionary strategy exercised by FS through RFI may influence the financial condition of Trenitalia's competitors, undermining their ability to compete, and may constitute an abuse of a dominant position considering the special responsibility of a company having a legal monopoly for the management of rail infrastructure and belonging to the same corporate group as Trenitalia. The more so given that both RFI and Trenitalia are owned by FS. The conduct of FS by way of RFI would also seem likely to cause significant harm to consumers (in this case businesses requiring rail freight services).


Rome, 22 September 2007