The new report, entitled "European Rail Companies: New EU Rules Likely to Boost International Rail Passenger Services", is now available on www.moodys.com. Moody's subscribers can access this report via the link provided at the end of this press release.
"We expect providers of international passenger services to benefit the most from the RRD, which is likely to accelerate competition by enabling operators to fully exploit the potential of the Trans-European high-speed rail network," says Marco Vetulli, a Moody's vice President - Senior Credit Officer in Moody's Corporate Finance Group and author of the report.
Germany'sDeutsche Bahn AG (DB, Aa1 negative), France's Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF, Aa1 negative) and Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS, unrated) are the most strongly positioned to take advantage of these opportunities because they have built up expertise and customer bases from running national high-speed passenger services.
Although the rail freight market is suffering from a secular decline as it is less competitive than road transportation, the new charging rules in the RRD could lead to lower track access charges and stimulate private investment in safer and more environmentally friendly trains. However, an increase in competition among rail freight operators may pressure the margins of already loss-making incumbents' freight businesses, such as SNCF's and Belgium's SNCB Logistics, or adversely affect the already moderate profits at others.
Moody's expects the positive effect of the RRD to be limited for national rail passenger services. Provisions within the RRD, especially on strengthening the role of national regulators and improving network access, are only likely to enhance the competitive landscape in EU countries, such as Germany, the UK, Italy, Sweden, which have taken steps to liberalise these services by passing national laws. However, as domestic rail passenger markets have high natural barriers to entry and relatively unattractive returns compared with other market segments, Moody's does not expect the RRD to dramatically increase the competitive pressure on the incumbent players in these markets.
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Marco Vetulli VP - Senior Credit Officer Corporate Finance Group Moody's Italia S.r.l Corso di Porta Romana 68 Milan 20122 Italy Telephone:+39-02-9148-1100Eric de Bodard MD - Corporate Finance Corporate Finance Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 SUBSCRIBERS: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Italia S.r.l Corso di Porta Romana 68 Milan 20122 Italy Telephone:+39-02-9148-1100(C) 2012 Moody's Investors Service, Inc. and/or its licensors and affiliates (collectively, "MOODY'S"). All rights reserved.
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