Abstract

In the 1930s, when competition first began to occur between trains and trucks, for example in freight transport, the main European states tried, with various regulatory and economic measures, to coordinate road and rail transport in the national interest. Joint ventures between train service operators and truck services; limitation of the transport for third parties, subject to the granting of licenses; taxes on goods moved from one place to another by trucks, represented the main measures used to help rail companies' budgets and to rationalize the sector. State intervention, aiming to use the most suitable mode of transport, was also meant to implement a transport policy adequate to protect citizens. It was a very important area of economic policy. This paper analyses the solutions adopted in Italy, compared with the main European states.