Bundeskartellamt imposes first fines in rail case

Today the Bundeskartellamt has imposed fines totalling 124.5 million euros on four rail manufacturers and suppliers for concluding anticompetitive agreements to the detriment of Deutsche Bahn AG. Fining decisions were served on ThyssenKrupp GfT Gleistechnik GmbH, Essen (103 million euros), Stahlberg Roensch GmbH, Seevetal, which since 2010 belongs to the Vossloh group (13 million euros), TSTG Schienen Technik GmbH & Co. KG, Duisburg, a subsidiary of the voestalpine group (4.5 million euros) and voestalpine BWG GmbH & Co. KG, Butzbach, another voestalpine subsidiary (4 million euros). Investigations into further companies are still ongoing. The proceedings were triggered by an application for leniency filed by the Austrian company voestalpine AG.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "For many years the rail suppliers have guaranteed each other relatively constant shares of Deutsche Bahn's contract volume. The cartel members monitored quotas, assigned projects and agreed on protective prices in order to steer the contract award process. Today's decisions conclude only the first part of the proceedings. The Bundeskartellamt will now shift the focus of its investigations in the rail case to other areas including rails and switches for regional and local customers. The case indicates once more that contracting entities, especially in public sector tendering, have to be on their guard."

The agreements applied to three different product markets: Normal rails, head-hardened rails and switch blades.

The quotas and price agreements in respect of normal rails were operated by the companies ThyssenKrupp GfT, Stahlberg Roensch and the voestalpine subsidiary TSTG between 2001 and 2008, in some cases even up to 2011. Proceedings against a further company involved in the agreements are still ongoing. Seven companies initially participated in the cartel. In the case of two of the companies the agreements were not prosecuted because they were statute-barred. A further company is now insolvent.

In an award proceeding regarding head-hardened rails, initiated by Deutsche Bahn in 2010/2011, agreements on prices were also reached between voestalpine Schienen GmbH, Austria, and the company Stahlberg Roensch. This part of the proceedings was also triggered by the leniency application filed by voestalpine, which was granted full immunity from fines.

In the course of the investigation the Vossloh subsidiary Kihn S.A. in Luxemburg also filed a leniency application regarding price agreements concluded with voestalpine BWG during invitations by Deutsche Bahn for bids for switch blades from 2006 up to 2011. Kihn was granted full immunity from fines.

All companies mentioned above have cooperated with the Bundeskartellamt during the course of the proceedings within the framework of its leniency programme. In calculating the fines, which are based on the turnover which the companies achieved with Deutsche Bahn from the cartelized business and the gravity of the infringement, the Bundeskartellamt also took into account the cooperation by the companies, the duration of the cartel involvement and the willingess of the companies to terminate the proceedings by settlement.

In these proceedings the Bundeskartellamt is cooperating closely with the public prosecutor's office and criminal investigation department in Bochum since they relate to cartels which involve publicly tendered products and services. The public prosecutor's office is investigating the natural persons involved in the cases on suspicion of collusive tendering.

The fining decisions are not yet final and can be appealed against to the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.