The European Commission decided, on Tuesday 20 April, to impose fines of €48.5 million on the railway companies Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB), Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Société Nationale des Chemins de fer belges/Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen (SNCB) for breaching EU antitrust rules.
The companies participated in a customer allocation cartel, which concerned cross-border rail cargo transport services on ‘blocktrains’ on key rail corridors in the EU. The three companies admitted their involvement in the agreement and agreed to settle the case.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, criticised this “cartel between key operators” and said that the decision shows that “this type of collusive behaviour is not acceptable”.
The infringement concerned cross-border rail cargo transport services in the EU provided by ÖBB, DB and SNCB under the freight sharing model and carried out in blocktrains.
The investigation revealed that the three railway companies coordinated by exchanging collusive information on customer requests for competitive offers and provided each other with higher quotes to protect their respective business. The companies participated in a customer allocation scheme, which is prohibited under EU rules.
The anti-competitive conduct lasted from 8 December 2008 to 30 April 2014, with SNCB participating only since 15 November 2011 and only for transports by ÖBB, DB and SNCB. The cartel concerned conventional cargo transport sectors (except automotive transports).
The fine imposed on DB (48.3 million) was increased by 50% because the company had previously been held liable for another cartel. The ÖBB received full immunity (avoiding an aggregate fine of €37 million). DB and SNCB (€270,000) benefited from a reduction of their fines for cooperating with the Commission during the investigation. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)