Notification of new rail passenger services

In accordance with Article 12 of Legislative Decree No. 112 of 15 July 2015 (hereinafter: Legislative Decree No. 112/2015), railway undertakings shall be granted the right of access to the railway infrastructure in the Member States of the European Union for the operation of rail passenger services. However, this access may be subject to restrictions where the new service would compromise the economic equilibrium of one or more public service contracts covering the same route or an alternative route.

In this framework, pursuant to Article 24 of Legislative Decree No. 112/2015, railway undertakings that intend to operate a new rail passenger service shall notify the Transport Regulation Authority of their intention no less than 18 months before the entry into force of the working timetable to which the request for capacity relates, by using the Standard Notification Form for new rail passenger services.

Upon receipt of a notification form duly submitted by the applicant, the Authority shall publish it in this section of its website and, at the latest within 10 days of the notification, it shall inform any competent authority that has awarded a rail passenger service under a public service contract covering the same route or an alternative route, as well as any railway undertaking performing these contracts.

Within one month of receiving the information on the intended new rail passenger service, any interested parties, i.e.

• any authority that has awarded a public service contract for a rail passenger service on the route of the new rail service or on an alternative route within the meaning of Legislative Decree No. 112/2015;
• any railway undertaking operating services under a public service contract on the route of the new rail passenger service or an alternative route;
• the manager of the rail infrastructure on which the new rail passenger service is, wholly or partly, planned.

may request the Authority the economic equilibrium test of the public service contract(s) concerned by using the Application Form for the Economic Equilibrium Test.

The economic equilibrium test of the public service contract is carried out by the Authority in accordance with the methodology laid down in Decision No. 156/2020 of 15 September 2020.

If no request for an economic equilibrium test is made within the specified deadline, the regulatory body shall inform the applicant and the infrastructure manager without delay.

Contact point

For any clarification and/or additional information, please contact the Authority’s office for Market Analysis and Regulatory Impact Assessment (pec@pec.autorita-trasporti.it).