Dutch rail operator fined over regional services contract

Dutch competition authorities slapped the national rail operator with a multi-million-euro fine today for breaking the law during a 2014 tender process to provide regional rail services.

"National Rail (NS) abused its position of power" in a bid to win a contract in the southern Limburg province, the Authority for Consumers and Markets said, handing down a 41- million-euro (USD 46.8-million) fine.

"The NS made a loss-making bid... in which the costs would have been higher than the income the NS expected to generate through regional transport services in Limburg," the ACM said in a statement.

The ACM said internal emails and documents clearly showed the NS manoeuvered to "thwart the competition." The NS also used confidential information gleaned from a former director of Veolia, one of the three other companies bidding for the contract, the ACM said.

In a statement after the decision, NS said it "disputes that it made a loss-making offer," adding it has formally objected and requested the ACM "to reconsider its decision." ACM however also said that the NS was slow to react to the competition's request for access to its services at certain stations, for instance ticket counters.

"The rail market can only function properly if all play according to the rules," ACM chairman Chris Fonteijn said in a statement.

"The ACM believes a robust fine is appropriate," he added.

The NS and five of its former managers are also facing criminal prosecution in the case, amid charges of fraud, bribery and breaching business confidentiality.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)