The Court of Rome lifts the reservation and allows Trenit to go back online. Possible, however, that Trenitalia will appeal and obtain a new suspension
Trenit is back online. The app that provides information on train schedules and possible delays in train service had been forced to suspend its activities last July due to an administrative appeal by Trenitalia itself. The former monopolist of the sector contested GoBright Media (the developer of Trenit) for the use of data - public - of Viaggiatreno.
Then the Court of Rome intervened, ordering the precautionary suspension while waiting to express itself on the merits of the matter. The sentence arrived at the end of August, when the same court recognized the reasons of the Italian startup and rejected the appeal presented by Trenitalia. Trenit, therefore, can continue to use the data on the Viaggiatreno platform without any impediment, providing users with the same service it had provided until the precautionary suspension last July.
Trenit is back on the stores: the post on Facebook
It was Trenit itself to communicate the outcome of the decision of the Court of the Capital with a post published on its Facebook page. "We made it, we're back online! - we read on the official Facebook page - The Court of Rome gave us the right in the precautionary dispute against Trenitalia: the most loved train app in Italy (and downloaded by more than 3 million users) is finally available again! It's a victory for Trenìt!, but above all for all of you who travel by train, who can now go back to using your favorite app, comparing different train operators. It's also a victory for transparency, and for our innovative AltaVelocita.it project, which was created to inform travelers of the time slots and days when it's most convenient to travel on high-speed trains".
Trenit: where to download it and further developments
Currently the Trenit app can be downloaded for free on Android and iOS devices from their respective stores. Everything seems to be back to normal, but the situation could still change and the dispute between the two companies could reopen. Trenitalia could file a request for appeal, while one of the two parties to the dispute could ask the judges to enter into the merits of the dispute and examine whether the data on train delays can be considered "open" or whether their use can take place only after a regular request for authorization issued by the company that manages the service.