EU antitrust regulators charge Austrian, Czech rail companies with collusion

EU antitrust regulators on Friday charged the Austrian and Czech rail incumbents of colluding in the market for used passenger railway wagons following a six-year investigation.

"Between 2012 and 2016, CD (Ceske drahy) and OBB (Osterreichische Bundesbahnen) engaged in a collective boycott aimed at maintaining their market position and impeding the expansion of RegioJet both in Czechia and on the international rail route between Prague and Vienna," the European Commission said in a statement.

Czech rail company RegioJet entered the long-distance rail passenger transport market in the Czech Republic in 2011, relying mainly on used wagons in order to compete with CD and OBB.