Italy's Antitrust Authority AGCM said
Friday that it has opened a probe into Italian railway
infrastructure operator Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) and its
state-owned parent company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS)
for suspected abuse of dominant position.
The competition watchdog said the case regards new entrant SNCF
Voyages Italia's access to the high-speed market.
"According to the Authority, access to the national railway
infrastructure and, as a consequence, entry into the high-speed
passenger transport market by new player SNCF Voyages Italia
S.r.l. appears to have been slowed down, and in some cases
hindered," the antitrust said.
"In its decision to open the proceedings, the Authority alleges
that Rete Ferroviaria Italiana S.p.A. implemented an
exclusionary strategy by engaging in various practices related
to the allocation of infrastructure capacity".
FS said its companies "have fully cooperated with the AGCM for
the success of the inspection operations and will have the
opportunity to represent the correctness of their conduct in the
course of the proceedings".
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