The Listening Forum

What the Listening Forum is

The “Listening Forum for gathering requests for the improvement, efficiency and development of infrastructure” is the forum for continuous discussion between RFI, the General Directorate for Transport and Railway Infrastructures of the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport and the stakeholders (licensed railway companies, Regions and Autonomous Provinces, Framework Agreement Holders), with a view to making decisions on the start-up of investments more efficient and plan their respective activities in a mutually supportive manner. The Listening Forum, set out in section 2.6 of the NS - Network Statement, was set up in accordance with the provisions of Rail Service Regulation Office (URSF) Decision no. 400/5 of 2013 and Italian Transport Authority (ART) Resolution no. 140/2017.

RFI ensures the Listening Forum is launched by 30 April each year. Within 30 days of the start of the Listening Forum, the stakeholders involved (the "Applicants") send RFI their requests, supported by a documentary analysis on the actual advantages of the proposed measures, their economic viability (costs/benefits) and the qualitative improvements of the infrastructure concerned.

RFI checks the technical feasibility of the proposals received in order to consider, together with the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport, including them in the Programme Contract, and informs each Applicant of the outcome of such assessments, stating the reasons for the decision.

In accordance with Italian Transport Authority Resolution no. 151 of 21 November 2019, RFI will publish the final report on the process of analysing and evaluating the proposals put forward by the interested parties, together with the contributions made, by 30 January of the following year, making the documentation available for the following 5 years.

In addition, as provided for in paragraph 2.6 of the Network Statement, on the occasion of the calling of the Listening Forum, RFI publishes the documentation relating to the equipped areas available and the service systems with provision for disposal/conversion which can be consulted to the page "Equipped Areas". RFI will take into consideration the requests made by the participants in the technical table also with respect to the aforementioned documentation.

In accordance with Italian Transport Authority Resolution no. 227/2022 and the related requirement 2.3.3.1 in Annex A of the Resolution, RFI makes available the list of stations for which is planned to decommission/reconvert into a stop with an indication of the service system connected to them.

The process of analysing and evaluating the proposals made by the stakeholders within the framework of the Technical Listening Table

Listening Forum documentation

The 2022 Listening Forum - 5th edition

In 2022, RFI invited Stakeholders to submit their requests for the improvement, efficiency and development of the infrastructure by filling out a specific form.

At the 5th edition of the Listening Forum, 363 proposals were received from 23 Stakeholders.

RFI then analysed them, classifying the proposals according to the type of request, with each one given an initial assessment as follows:

Not accepted – Requests not accepted due to regulatory/technical constraints, being out of context or because formulated in a generic manner;
Subject to in-depth examination – Requests found to be worthy of in-depth technical examination, currently being undertaken by RFI. If such requests are accepted, they may be included in the national railway infrastructure development and efficiency plans;
Already planned – Requests for interventions already planned by the Infrastructure Manager.

The initial assessment resulted in 245 requests to be further investigated, 76 requests already planned and 42 that could not be implemented.

RFI met with all stakeholders who had submitted the proposals individually to inform them of the outcome of the assessments and to request any additional information necessary to continue the subsequent in-depth studies.

Since 27 January 2023, the final report of the 2022 Listening Forum has been online on RFI’s corporate website, with information on the relevant documentation.

2022 Listening Forum: final report by RFI - only Italian version

Final report of the proposal evaluation and analysis procedure - Italian version(.pdf — 847 KB)

2022 Listening Forum: stakeholder proposals - only Italian version

Adriafer(.pdf — 3436 KB)

Adsp Mare Adriatico Orientale(.pdf — 4166 KB)

Captrain(.pdf — 4638 KB)

DB Cargo Italia(.pdf — 4116 KB)

Dinazzano Po(.pdf — 10818 KB)

EVM Rail(.pdf — 3335 KB)

Fuorimuro(.pdf — 1982 KB)

InRail(.pdf — 3033 KB)

Mercitalia Rail(.pdf — 10004 KB)

Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano(.pdf — 17933 KB)

Rail Traction Company(.pdf — 3605 KB)

Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia(.pdf — 16772 KB)

Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta(.pdf — 3535 KB)

Regione Veneto(.pdf — 4954 KB)

Regione Liguria(.pdf — 3860 KB)

Regione Lombardia(.pdf — 3800 KB)

Regione Marche(.pdf — 32773 KB)

Regione Puglia(.pdf — 9638 KB)

Regione Sicilia(.pdf — 8598 KB)

SOGRAF(.pdf — 1898 KB)

Trenitalia (.pdf — 87838 KB)

Trenitalia Tper(.pdf — 3791 KB)

Trieste Marine Terminal(.pdf — 2739 KB)

The 2021 Listening Forum - 4th edition

In 2021, RFI invited Stakeholders to submit their requests for the improvement, efficiency and development of the infrastructure by filling out a specific form.

At the 4th edition of the Listening Forum, 291 proposals were received from 20 Stakeholders.

RFI then analysed them, classifying the proposals according to the type of request, with each one given an initial assessment as follows:

Not accepted – Requests not accepted due to regulatory/technical constraints, being out of context or because formulated in a generic manner;
Subject to in-depth examination – Requests found to be worthy of in-depth technical examination, currently being undertaken by RFI. If such requests are accepted, they may be included in the national railway infrastructure development and efficiency plans;
Already planned – Requests for interventions already planned by the Infrastructure Manager.

The initial assessment resulted in 183 requests to be further investigated, 79 requests already planned and 29 that could not be implemented.

Since 31 January 2022, the final report of the 2021 Listening Forum has been online on RFI’s corporate website, with information on the relevant documentation.

2021 Listening Forum: final report by RFI - only Italian version

Final report of the proposal evaluation and analysis procedure - Italian version(.pdf — 276 KB)

2021 Listening Forum: stakeholder proposals - only Italian version

Adriafer(.pdf — 14757 KB)

Adsp Mare Adriatico Orientale(.pdf — 2149 KB)

Captrain(.pdf — 4880 KB)

DB Cargo Italia(.pdf — 4981 KB)

Dinazzano Po(.pdf — 8184 KB)

Fuorimuro(.pdf — 2013 KB)

Italo - Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori(.pdf — 1593 KB)

Lotras(.pdf — 3018 KB)

Mercitalia Rail(.pdf — 24327 KB)

Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano(.pdf — 21341 KB)

Regione Calabria(.pdf — 8175 KB)

Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia(.pdf — 2154 KB)

Regione Puglia(.pdf — 5427 KB)

Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta(.pdf — 7455 KB)

Regione Veneto(.pdf — 7369 KB)

SAD Trasporto Locale(.pdf — 582 KB)

Trenitalia (.pdf — 88525 KB)

Trenitalia Tper(.pdf — 6965 KB)

Trieste Marine Terminal(.pdf — 1753 KB)

TX Logistik(.pdf — 4300 KB)

The 2020 Listening Forum - 3rd edition

In 2020, in view of the restrictive measures in force for the national health crisis, the plenary meeting of the listening forum to be held by 30 April did not take place. However, RFI invited Stakeholders to submit their requests for the improvement, efficiency and development of the infrastructure by filling in a specific form.

At the 3rd edition of the Listening Forum, 156 proposals were received from 19 Stakeholders. RFI then analysed them, classifying them according to the type of request, with each one given an initial assessment as follows:

Not acceptable: Requests not accepted due to regulatory/technical constraints, out of context or because formulated in a generic manner.

Subject to in-depth examination: requests found to be worthy of in-depth technical examination currently being undertaken by RFI. If such requests are accepted, they may be included in the national railway infrastructure development and efficiency plans.

Already planned: requests for interventions already planned by the Infrastructure Manager.

The first assessment resulted in 91 requests to be further investigated, 41 requests already planned and 24 that could not be implemented.

RFI met all the stakeholders who had submitted the proposals individually to inform them of the outcome of the assessments and to request the additional information necessary to continue the subsequent in-depth studies.

Since 29 January 2021, the final report of the 2020 Listening Forum has been online on RFI's corporate website, with information on the relevant documentation.

2020 Listening Forum: final report by RFI - only Italian version

Final report of the proposal evaluation and analysis procedure - Italian version(.pdf — 395 KB)

2020 Listening Forum: stakeholder proposals - only Italian version

Adriafer(.pdf — 5425 KB)

Adsp Mare Adriatico Orientale(.pdf — 1682 KB)

Captrain(.pdf — 20506 KB)

DB Cargo Italia(.pdf — 5180 KB)

Dinazzano Po(.pdf — 2500 KB)

Fuorimuro(.pdf — 5224 KB)

Inrail(.pdf — 2982 KB)

Lotras(.pdf — 2817 KB)

Mercitalia Rail(.pdf — 29562 KB)

Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano(.pdf — 12576 KB)

Regione Abruzzo(.pdf — 7253 KB)

Regione Lazio(.pdf — 4683 KB)

Regione Lombardia(.pdf — 4699 KB)

Regione Piemonte e Liguria(.pdf — 3991 KB)

Regione Veneto(.pdf — 1601 KB)

Sad Trasporto Locale(.pdf — 1549 KB)

Trenitalia LH(.pdf — 10208 KB)

Trenitalia Regionale(.pdf — 13285 KB)

Trieste Marine Terminal(.pdf — 2975 KB)

TX Logistik(.pdf — 5738 KB)

The 2019 Listening Forum - 2nd edition

At the 2nd edition of the Listening Forum - which took place on 14 May 2019 - 344 proposals were received from 18 stakeholders. RFI then analysed them, classifying them according to the type of request, with each one given an initial assessment as follows:

Not acceptable: Requests not accepted due to regulatory/technical constraints, out of context or because formulated in a generic manner.

Subject to in-depth examination: requests found to be worthy of in-depth technical examination currently being undertaken by RFI. If such requests are accepted, they may be included in the national railway infrastructure development and efficiency plans.

Already planned: requests for interventions already planned by the Infrastructure Manager.

From the first assessment, there were 223 requests to undergo in-depth examination, 90 already planned requests and 31 requests that could not be implemented.

RFI met all the stakeholders who had submitted the requests individually to inform them of the outcome of the assessment and to request the additional information necessary to continue the subsequent in-depth studies.

Since 1 April 2020, the final report of the 2019 Listening Forum has been online on RFI's corporate website, with information on the relevant documentation.

2019 discussion forum: final report by RFI - only italian version

Final report of the proposal evaluation and analysis procedure - Italian version(.pdf — 395 KB)

2019 Listening Forum: stakeholder proposals - only Italian version

Adriafer(.pdf — 2186 KB)

AdSP Mare Adriatico Orientale(.pdf — 2255 KB)

Dinazzano Po(.pdf — 3346 KB)

Fuorimuro and Inrail(.pdf — 16943 KB)

Mercitalia Rail(.pdf — 39686 KB)

Emilia Romagna Region(.pdf — 9905 KB)

Liguria Region(.pdf — 3496 KB)

Lombardy Region(.pdf — 17908 KB)

Molise Region(.pdf — 1520 KB)