PRESS RELEASE

RAIL TRANSPORT: ANTITRUST - FS GROUP ABUSED ITS DOMINANT POSITION TO HINDER ARENAWAYS’ ACCESS TO THE PASSENGER RAIL MARKET

The Ferrovie dello Stato (State Railways, FS) Group was warned against employing similar behaviour in the future, as it would compromise all attempts to open up the market. Despite the seriousness of the Group’s actions, the Authority decided to impose a fine of 300,000 Euros, bearing in mind how recently the legislative framework relating to the company’s actions was drawn up.

The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, at its meeting on 25th July 2012, decided that State Railways (FS), through its subsidiaries RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana - Italian Railway Network) and Trenitalia, employed a complex and unified strategy aiming to hinder, and, indeed, to impede the company Arenaways’ access to the passenger rail market. The Authority warned the group against employing similar actions in the future, which would compromise all the attempts made to open up the market.

Despite the seriousness of the actions established, the Board, bearing in mind how recently the legislative framework relating to the actions of the former monopolist was drawn up, decided to fine the Group a total of 300,000 Euros. The infringement was committed in a completely unique context, characterised by the entering into force between 2009 and 2010 of legislation that aimed to balance the needs of liberalising the rail transport market with preserving the economic balance in the service contracts drawn up for the provision of subsidised services. The decision made by the Ufficio per la Regolazione dei Servizi Ferroviari (Railway Service Regulatory Office/URSF, established to manage the relations between the network manager and rail companies) to prevent Arenaways from operating intermediary stops because they would have compromised the balance of the service contracts, was actually the first measure taken by the regulator on the subject.

According to the evidence pieced together by the Antitrust Authority, the FS Group, through a series of actions under their control, succeeded in their aim of impeding Arenaways’ operations on the Turin-Milan line.

In particular:

1) RFI, the company that manages the rail network, used dilatory tactics regarding Arenaways’ advance request for track allocation, leading to a delay of over 18 months in granting access to essential infrastructure. The tracks first requested by Arenaways in April 2008 were only obtained in November 2010, and furthermore without intermediary stops, on the basis of the URSF’s decision. For this infringement the Authority decided to impose a joint and several fine of 100,000 Euros on Ferrovie dello Stato (State Railways) and RFI.

2) Trenitalia provided the URSF with an incorrect description of the facts, in order to sway the regulator’s decision in its favour. The information was set out in such a way as to alter the analysis of the extent to which the financial balance was compromised, and therefore to lead to the decision to prevent intermediary stops being made between Milan and Turin.

Furthermore, Trenitalia increased and altered its services, using its commercial trains and, at a later date, those scheduled in the Service Contracts, so as to overlap significantly with the services that the new entrant intended to offer, both in terms of times and routes.

For this infringement the Antitrust Authority decided to impose a joint and several fine of 200,000 Euros on Ferrovie dello Stato (State Railways) and Trenitalia.

Rome, 9th August 2012