RFI safely manages railway circulation and operation on the entire national network, with several Railway Companies providing transport services for passengers and freight.
In order to ensure the efficiency and safety of railway traffic and operations, RFI is committed to maintaining and renewing the railway infrastructure and its technologies, and to develop protection systems against external events. In particular, all activities that affect the safe operation of trains and railway operations are part of the Safety Management System (SMS), as accepted and supervised by ANSFISA(1). The SGS, which is constantly updated, is certified according to Standard ISO 9001 and is part of the Integrated Safety Management System (SIGS), which also includes the Environmental Management System (EMS) and the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (SGSL), certified according to Standards ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
RFI’s main concern, beside safety, is also improving service quality, regularity and punctuality. An extraordinary plan to upgrade the network and stations, as part of the NRRP (2), is underway throughout the Country, with the aim of building new infrastructure to relieve the 'historical' lines’ workload, and supplement them with new, more modern ones. The plan included investments for over 7 billion euro in 2023, and 9 billion euro in 2024.
This massive amount of work has led to the opening of around 1,400 construction sites, with inevitable effects on the temporary unavailability of certain services and on regular traffic. Nevertheless, possible disruptions are constantly monitored and managed through careful planning, and thanks to this commitment, actual punctuality (3) for long-distance trains in 2023 dropped only 1% compared to the previous year, while that of regional trains remained substantially stable.
Notes:
(1) Safety Authorisation, pursuant to Legislative Decree. 50/2019
(2) NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan): for further details, see pages "Our projects" and "I nostri principali lavori di intervento programmati" (this page is available only in Italian)
(3) punctuality actually perceived by traveller
Safety (safe train circulation and railway operations) is RFI’s cornerstone, around which processes and activities are developed and pursued, with the continuous involvement of personnel, by developing suitable technological systems, and through organisational and regulatory measures aimed at minimising the risk of accidents. Safety is therefore RFI's main commitment to stakeholders and the Safety Charter’s first objective.
In compliance with national and international standards, the safety targets are aligned with the National Reference Values (NRVs) assigned to Italy and included in the overall "Company as a whole" risk category. These NRVs and the Common European Safety Targets (CSTs) are established by the EUAR and ratified by the European Commission.
In 2023, this ratio remained within the national reference value.
| Indicator | Parameter | 2024 target |
|---|---|---|
Security level of railway operation |
FWSI number resulting from significant accidents/trains per km * |
Staying below the NRV assigned to Italy for the 'Company as a whole' railway risk category |
* Internal/third-party monitoring