The Italian government is proposing to proceed with the privatisation of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FSI Group), and is considering merging the railway infrastructure business with the government-owned highways company, the Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle Strade SpA (ANAS), which owns and manages large parts of the national road network.

This article in Studi Economici  examines both aspects. We argue that changes could be made to the privatisation and reform process, learning from the British experience, which would bring substantial benefits to Italian rail users and taxpayers.

Alfredo Del Monte and Richard Price: Privatisation without Liberalisation? The Strange Case of Italian Railways, and How Adjustments to the Government’s Reforms Could Achieve Gains for Rail Users and Taxpayers, Studi Economici, 2016

Click here to download the full paper from the Studi Economici website

Click here to download a short version

A previous study on FS privatisation, in Italian, is available here:

Alfredo Del Monte e Richard Price: Privatizzazione senza liberalizzazione? Lo strano caso delle ferrovie italiane, Nel Merito, luglio 2016,

Click here for the Italian article in Nel Merito

Photo: A Frecciarossa high speed train and a regional passenger service, both operated and owned by Trenitalia, at Grandi Stazioni’s Milano Centrale station, on rail infrastructure managed by RFI.