The European Union (EU) imposed a penalty of 48.7 million euros on Austrian and Czech railway companies for allegedly impeding competition through secret agreements. The EU Commission announced that Austria’s Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) and the Czech Ceske Drahy railway institutions were fined for violating Union antitrust laws. The statement indicated that the companies were found to have made secret agreements to exclude competitors, collaborated to restrict access to used wagons for RegioJet entering the sector, thus limiting competition in the railway passenger transportation market. It was noted that RegioJet entered the long-distance railway passenger transportation market in the Czech Republic in 2011, and the two companies were fined a total of 48.7 million euros between 2012 and 2016 for violating EU competition rules to maintain their market positions. The EU Commission has the authority to monitor whether companies operating in EU countries are involved in anti-competitive practices in their sectors. If the EU Commission identifies a breach of competition or antitrust laws in such investigations, it puts an end to it and imposes significant fines on the companies.