(updates previous)
New rail regulations will cover
both passenger and freight trains and will aim to increase
productivity and competitiveness while lowering costs for
passengers, companies, and consumers by making sure all train
operators have equal access to railway infrastructure, Italy's
Transportation Regulation Authority said Monday.
"Critical elements have come to our attention, which put
the principle of equal and non-discriminatory access at risk,
with negative effects on passenger and freight rail service,"
the Authority said in a statement.
The regulations will contain "regulatory remedies" making
sure all railway companies get to play on a level playing field
in terms of tolls, leases, disabled passenger access, and quotas
of infrastructure assigned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI
SpA), the private company that manages Italy's railway system
thanks to a public concession expiring in 2060.
The Authority made the decision to come up with new
regulations on March 6, following an investigation beginning in
January.
The new procedures will be ready within three months, when
they will be subject to public consultation, the Authority said.
Besides a number of secondary regional railway companies,
Italy has two national competitors: publicly-owned Ferrovie
dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. and its subsidiary Trenitalia, and
Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori S.p.A., a high-speed train operator
founded in 2011 by four Italian businessmen to compete with
Trenitalia.
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