The impact of open access on intra- and inter-modal rail competition. A national level analysis in Italy

•We test price and capacity effects of the intra-modal competition in the Italian HSR market.•We measure the impact of inter-modal competition by HSR on airline pricing behaviour.•We empirically test competitive interactions of Trenitalia and Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori.•Intra-modal strategic pricing takes place to a different degree on different routes.•Both capacity and frequency are strategic variables.

During 2012 the Italian passenger market has experienced the entry of a new operator, Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV) on the high speed rail (HSR) market segment, in competition with the incumbent Trenitalia. The Italian market is the first and most extensive case in Europe where two railway companies compete for HSR services on open access basis. In this paper we empirically explore the competitive effects of the newcomer’s entry in the passenger market tackling two issues. First, we study price and capacity effects of the stemming intra-modal competition. Second, we measure the impact of inter-modal competition by HSR on airline pricing behaviour. The results show that the two railway companies engage in strategic pricing, although to a different degree on different routes and that capacity and frequency are strategic variables. We also find that airlines significantly reduce fares when flights are in direct competition with HSR services.