The European Commission has imposed fines totaling €48.7 million on České dráhy (ČD) and Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB), the national rail operators of Czechia and Austria, for violating EU antitrust rules.
The two companies were accused by Brussels of colluding to block a new market entrant, RegioJet, from accessing used wagons, thereby restricting competition in the rail passenger transport sector.
In a press release published on Wednesday, the Commission said its investigation had found that ČD and ÖBB coordinated between 2012 and 2016 to impede RegioJet, which had entered the long-distance rail passenger market in Czechia in 2011. RegioJet, a private rail operator, relied on used wagons to compete with the incumbents.
“ČD and ÖBB colluded to maintain their market position and impede the expansion of RegioJet both in Czechia and on the international rail route between Prague and Vienna, in breach of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’),” it read.
The aforementioned article prohibits anticompetitive agreements that distort competition within the EU single market.
The Commission outlined several specific tactics used by the rail operators to maintain their dominance. These included manipulating the timing of ÖBB’s wagon sales to ensure RegioJet could not acquire them, rigging the bidding process so that ČD could purchase the wagons instead, and coordinating with other potential buyers to exclude RegioJet.
The two companies also reportedly shared confidential information about the bids and the level of interest from other parties involved in the sales process.
ÖBB, which cooperated with the Commission’s investigation under the EU’s leniency program, received a 45 percent reduction in its fine, lowering its penalty to €16.7 million. In contrast, ČD was fined €31.94 million for its role in the collusion.
The fines will be paid into the EU’s general budget, indirectly reducing the financial contributions required from Member States in the following year.
Czech Railways (ČD) strongly rejected the Commission’s findings, stating that its actions were lawful.
“Czech Railways fundamentally disagrees with the issued decision and rejects the alleged interference with the trade in used railcars of the carrier ÖBB, as they were continuously sold to various companies, always on the market principle at the highest offered price,” it said in response to the charge.
