“In order to safeguard the business and employment continuity of the railway companies on the market, it is absolutely necessary a timely intervention by the Government“.
All with “economic support measures such as the discount on the infrastructure access fee and the disbursement of compensation funds for the damage suffered “.
Italo writes a letter to the government in light of the situation of falling demand and rising costs. The railway companies, the letter warns, “in the absence of intervention would be forced to adopt” also “drastic measures“with” impacts on the service to the citizen and on the employment level “.
Italo’s letter is signed by the company’s CEO Gianbattista La Rocca and was sent to the Ministries of Infrastructure and the Economy and to the Transport Authority for information.
Meanwhile, following the trend of the infections, the measures taken by the Government to stem the pandemic situation and the consequent strong contraction in demand, Italo has decided for a “necessary reduction of daily services“. He communicated it in a note:” The first suppressions will concern from today 6 services that from January 14 will become 27 (of which 21 canceled every day and a further 6 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays)“.
A similar request to the Government for support measures also comes from private medium-long distance line transport, which sent another letter, also addressed to the two ministries, and signed by 10 companies, including Flixbus and Itabus.
In the letter Italo highlights in particular how the high-speed sector, with the worsening of the epidemiological scenario, has “registered a new and significant contraction due to the reduction in demand from travelers”, moreover “the current situation is such as to suggest an inevitable and further deterioration that will have effects comparable to those already suffered on the occasion of the first national lockdown “.
“Transport demand in 2021 never reached prepandemic levels, settling at an average -57% compared to 2019“, explains La Rocca.
In this already “so critical” context, railway companies are also called to “face significant cost increases for 2022: the toll will increase by approximately 1.3% (planned inflation); electricity costs will increase by more than 55% compared to the beginning of 2021 “.
This is why Italo “believes in the first place to be urgent and essential to guarantee the railway companies on the market for the entire period of validity of the state of health emergency (currently set at 31 March 2022) at least the discount on the infrastructure access fee“, the so-called toll.
The letter also reminds us that in the European panorama, countries such as Germany, “in addition to guaranteeing a 98% discount on the toll for market services for the whole of 2021, has already foreseen an extension to 2022 with a value equal to about 45% “and it is pointed out that Italian companies” in this period have guaranteed the service, investing in order to allow a safe recovery and growth “.
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