On Friday 26 May, the European Commission announced that it had authorised a €300 million Italian aid scheme to improve the cross-border interoperability of the Italian rail network.
The aid will enable the acquisition and installation of the latest available version of the single European rail traffic management and safety control system (the European Rail Traffic Management System or ERTMS) on vehicles operating on the Italian rail network.
Italy’s aim is to implement the new system across its entire network by 2036.
The aid will go to railway undertakings in the form of direct subsidies until 31 December 2026.
The Commission found that the scheme was compatible with the European rules on State aid, and, more specifically, with Article 93 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which authorises aid “if they meet the needs of coordination of transport or if they represent reimbursement for the discharge of certain obligations inherent in the concept of a public service” and with the Community guidelines on State aid to railway undertakings (2008/C 184/07). (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)