France’s SNCF train operator eyes Italian expansion
Italian authorities rule company can run 18 trips per day on Italian network from Turin hub
The initial services will run from Turin to Rome and Venice
Time Two Shine / Sean Pavone / Catarina Belova / Shutterstock
French state rail operator SNCF will expand into the Italian market in 2027, offering links between Turin to Venice and Rome.
The SNCF will be offered at least 18 ‘track slots’ per day on the Italian network covering the two routes.
The operator will run the services through a subsidiary company, with exact timetables to be announced in the future.
The services will run for at least ten years before they need to be renewed, according to a ruling from Italy’s competition authority following a dispute.
It will be the company’s first route to run entirely within Italy, although it currently operates a Paris-Turin-Milan high-speed service, and local trains in the south-east enter Italy from Nice and stop at the border town of Ventimiglia.
Italy’s high-speed train market is currently dominated by Trenitalia and its famous Frecciarossa or ‘red arrow’ trains.
It is not the first expansion outside of France however, as SNCF’s low-cost arm OuiGo operates several routes in Spain.
SNCF wins court case
It comes after the operator won a court battle in Italy against Italian state-owned infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI).
The Italian courts ruled in favour of the SNCF and argued that the RFI had unfairly favoured state-owned sister company Trenitalia and blocked the French company’s planned expansion into the peninsula.
European rules on competition have required state-owned rail operators to open up routes across their networks to rival companies, and in many cases has seen state-owned companies expand into neighbouring countries.
While in some cases this has seen an expansion in cross-country operations, it has led to several operators offering routes completely outside of their original country.
In France, Trentialia has been particularly active in opening new routes, and is currently looking for further expansion opportunities in France including a London-Paris link via the Channel Tunnel.
The RFI was not penalised for its previous actions, despite the competition authority calling them “an abuse of dominant position.”
Trenitalia responded to the decision by saying “that it ultimately takes on a punitive character towards the incumbent operator.”
Further expansion on the horizon?
The Italian competition authority ruled the routes are necessary for the SNCF to stabilise its expansion into the Italian market, where it will become the second high-speed competitor to Trenitalia after Italo (a private company part-owed by the Mediterranean Shipping Company.)
The SNCF believes it requires greater access to the rail network however, and is looking at offering nine return trips per day between Turin and Naples via Rome, as well as four between Turin and Venice.
This correlates to 26 daily paths, close to a third more than granted by the court.
“Without this minimum level of activity, the company lacks the necessary conditions to justify the investment and continue its operations,” said SNCF Voyageurs.
The company says Italy also needs to ensure “the swift implementation [of any additional routes… and the assurance of access to maintenance facilities in Italy and the certification of the trains.”
The company hopes to eventually gain a 15% market share of the high-speed market in Italy by 2036, focusing on Turin, Milan, Naples, Rome, and Venice as principal hubs.
