RFI: the decree sets targets, semi-annual reporting, and penalties for the investment contract

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has established by decree the rules for verifying whether Rete ferroviaria italiana S.p.a. (RFI) achieves the milestones and objectives of the Program Contract – Investment part and for applying penalties when they are not achieved. The decree of August 31, 2026, signed by Minister Matteo Salvini in concert with the Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti, is published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, General Series no. 255 of November 2, 2026, with official reference 26A05717. The regulation applies starting from the 2027-2031 contractual period.

The measure implements art. 15, paragraph 5-ter, of the legislative decree of July 15, 2015, n. 112, introduced by art. 22, paragraph 1, letter b), point 4), of the decree-law of February 19, 2026, n. 19, converted with amendments by law of April 20, 2026, n. 50, which requires the definition of reporting methods, financial circuits, and penalties for the manager via ministerial decree. In the premises, the decree refers to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and Regulation (EU) 2021/241, as well as the concession granted to RFI by ministerial decree October 31, 2000, n. 138T and supplemented by decrees November 28, 2002, n. 60T and January 19, 2006, n. 3T, the CIPE resolution of November 26, 2020, n. 63, and the ART resolution n. 116/2025 of July 24, 2025 on tariff reward and penalty mechanisms (Measure 10.6 of Annex A to resolution n. 95/2023).

The text was registered by the Court of Auditors on October 7, 2026, Control Office for the acts of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, under no. 3376, and enters into force the day following its publication. It does not apply to the Program Contract – Services part, except for performance indicators, quality criteria, and interventions classified as renewals pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/797, and does not entail new burdens for public finances.

Semi-annual reporting and schedule

Annex 1 to the decree contains the “Reference scheme for the identification of milestones, objectives, and indicators of the Program Contract – Investment part 2027-2031”, which becomes an integral part of the five-year contract and its annual updates. RFI must submit semi-annual reporting to the MIT, for the information of the Transport Regulation Authority (ART), within thirty days of the deadlines of June 30 and December 31 of each year.

The reporting includes, for each milestone or objective achieved, the certification of the CEO of RFI and a series of mandatory data:

• identifiers of the interventions (CUP, life-cycle cost, and other codes) and of the projects included in the “Milestones and objectives” table;
• procedural, physical, and financial progress with the relative deviation from forecasts;
• description of the completed works and those still to be completed, with supporting documentation;
• certification of the update of data on the public investment monitoring information systems of the State General Accounting Office (Ragioneria generale dello Stato).

The expenditure and procedural schedule, signed by the CEO of RFI, must be sent to the MIT and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) by January 31st of each year and is an essential prerequisite of the contract; a reasoned report on the state of implementation is submitted by July 31st. Upon first application, the schedule is transmitted within sixty days of entry into force.

Verifications, counter-arguments, and penalties

The Directorate General for Railway Transport and Infrastructure, with the support of the Technical Mission Structure, verifies the achievement of objectives every semester based on the findings of the ART and RFI’s reporting. In the event of a positive outcome, it notifies the manager, also for the purpose of activating the financial circuit. If deviations, delays, or critical issues emerge, it assigns RFI a period of no less than thirty days for counter-arguments, supplementary elements, or a corrective action plan, without suspending ongoing interventions.

In cases of proven and unjustified failure to achieve milestones, both intermediate and final, the Directorate General initiates the procedure for penalties. Art. 10 establishes that:

• penalties are contained in the text of the Program Contract – Investments part;
• they are expressed in relation to baskets of relevant investment projects or specific investment programs;
• they may be fixed and/or proportional and must be scaled to the severity of the failure to achieve the goal;
• their application does not exclude further corrective measures in the presence of serious breaches.

Cost variations exceeding 20 percent of the approved economic framework, net of tariff adjustments, must be promptly communicated by RFI to MIT and MEF with an impact report.

Remuneration of executives and the role of ART

The decree links the variable part of the remuneration of the executives managing the contract resources to results: 50 percent of the amount to the level of achievement of milestones and objectives, and the other 50 percent to results on performance indicators and quality criteria. The minimum percentages of the variable component linked to these criteria remain within the limit of 30 percent, and RFI must provide evidence of the incentive mechanisms in its annual financial statements.

The ART identifies performance indicators and quality criteria in agreement with the MIT and, for financial profiles, after consulting the MEF, incorporating them into the program contracts; it manages their monitoring and applies penalties for failure to achieve results according to its own procedures. The MIT may nevertheless carry out independent monitoring and shall highlight the objectives achieved and any deviations in the annual report provided for by art. 15 of legislative decree no. 112/2015, published on the Ministry’s website.

For sector operators, the decree anticipates the mechanism that will govern the next five years of network investments: certain reporting timelines, semi-annual verification with an adversarial process of at least thirty days, and penalties linked to project baskets. Those working on railway contracts funded by the PNRR will have to comply with a schedule signed at the top level of RFI and with the requirement to update data on the CUP and the systems of the State General Accounting Office.

Official source: Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, General Series no. 255 of November 2, 2026 — Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, decree of August 31, 2026, “Provisions regarding the reporting and verification of milestones and objectives, activation of the financial circuit and application of penalties relating to the Program Contract – Investment part between the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana S.p.a.” (26A05717).