Der europäische Perso- nenverkehr-Wettbewerberverband Allrail sieht die Verlängerung der Nachtzuglinie Stockholm – Hamburg der schwedischen SJ bis Berlin skeptisch.

Trafikverket bör ta ansvar för den av SJ nyligen aviserade offensiven mot det privatägda järnvägsföretaget Snälltåget. Det svenska statliga järnvägsföretaget SJ, har nämligen meddelat att man kommer att kopiera Snälltågets nattåg mellan Stockholm – Berlin, genom att förlänga sin, av svenska skattebetalare subventionerade nattågstrafik Stockholm – Hamburg till Berlin. Detta utgör en olaglig korssubventionering.

The Swedish Transport Authority Trafikverket should take responsibility for the recently announced offensive against the privately owned operator Snälltåget by the Swedish state-owned rail incumbent SJ. Namely, SJ has announced that it will compete with Snälltåget´s commercially driven night train between Stockholm and Berlin by extending its taxpayer-funded Stockholm – Hamburg night train service to Berlin. This represents an illegal cross-subsidy.

The Corsica Island authority has been fined €86 million due to an unjustified Public Service Obligation (‘PSO’) subsidy for the state ferry operator SNCM compared to a privately owned competitor1.

This case is 100% relevant to EU passenger rail. Some EU countries are being lobbied hard by their state rail incumbents to directly award PSO contracts. There is high risk that – like in Corsica – such PSOs will be an unjustified & wasteful use of subsidy - with no benefit for passengers or the environment.

The Polish government’s new draft recovery plan foresees the purchase of significant amount of new long distance rail rolling stock: 38 Push-Pull train sets and 45 locomotives with subsidy of €482.5 million. But with a big catch: the state-owned long distance rail operator “PKP Intercity” is the only beneficiary.