1. 1 The new railway environment Today’s status The GCU (General Contract of Use for Wagons) J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

2. 2 The GCU (General Contract of Use for Wagons) PRESENTATION  The GCU: -its origine ? -Its usefulness?  GCU and transport contract : why two contracts? PRACTICALLY  What should be done if a damage is noticed to a wagon during the  transportation ?  What should be done if a damage is noticed after arrival or on a private  siding ?  What should be done if my wagon causes an accident or damages? J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

3. 1st July 2006: Application OTIF Vilnius Protocoll 1999 - RU CUV general rules + general contract ex GCU or indiv. Contract - OTIF-non EU: - RU CUV + CUU - RU ATMF - RU APTU - EU: - Directives - TSIs (WAG, TAF,..) - ENs EU Laws After Single status for Wagons Safety & Technical Rules Bilateral Relation RU - Keeper - RIV Technical part mandatory - UIC leaflets mandatory - RIV Contractual part mandatory Before R-Wagons P-Wagons 3 - CIM/RIP mandatory - UIC leaflet 433 mandatory - Contract of Registration - RIV Technical part mandatory - UIC leaflets mandatory J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

4. 4 UIC, UIP and ERFA work together to develop the General Contract of Use for Freight Wagons „GCU“ The GCU has entered into force on July 1st 2006 The Market players have demonstrated with the GCU that they can organize themselves in an open market in areas where cooperation is advantageous. The Assocations are playing a key role in this process. They are the „guardian“ of the GCU. The EU Commission and ERA attach great value to the GCU as a vector for the flexible and concrete implementation of the new wagon environment J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

5. 5 The GCU provides a multilateral contractual framework for the use of wagons The General Contract of Use for wagons (GCU) is a multilateral contractual framework based on the CUV (Appendix D of the COTIF 99) for the use of wagons in national and international traffic, based on private law. contains all relevant mutual rights and obligations of railway undertakings and wagon keepers regarding the use of wagons (except part of annex 9) saves the parties of the contract the need of negotiating numerous bilateral agreements thereby ensuring wagon interoperability in a liberalized European rail market can be complemented flexibly by other contractual arrangements if necessary Commercial conditions for the use of wagons are not included J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

6. 6 The Chapters of the GCU cover the whole range of the relationship between RUs and Wagon Keepers CHAPTER I : OBJECT, SCOPE OF APPLICATION, TERMINATION, FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONTRACT, DISCONTINUANCE OF BEING A SIGNATORY CHAPTER II : OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF THE WAGON KEEPER CHAPTER III : OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF THE RUs CHAPTER IV : ASCERTAINMENT AND HANDLING OF DAMAGE TO WAGONS IN THE CUSTODY OF AN RU CHAPTER V : LIABILITY IN THE EVENT OF LOSS OR OF DAMAGE TO A WAGON CHAPTER VI : LIABILITY IN THE EVENT OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY A WAGON CHAPTER VII : LIABILITY FOR STAFF AND OTHER PERSONS CHAPTER VIII : OTHER PROVISIONS Download from website www.gcubureau.org J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

7. 7 The 12 technical appendices of the GCU help the day-to-day operational dealings Appendix 1: List of signatory keepers and RUs. Appendix 2 : Definitions Appendix 3 : Wagon note. Appendix 4 : Wagon damage report Appendix 5 : Method for calculating the residual value of a wagon Appendix 6 : Compensation for loss of use Appendix 7 : Spare parts Appendix 8 : Internal Regulation for the Application and Further Development of the GCU Appendix 9 : Conditions for the technical inspections for wagon handover Appendix 10 : Corrective and preventive maintenance Appendix 11 : Inscriptions and signs on wagons Appendix 12 : Catalogue of damage to wagons J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

8. 8 On April 1 st 2010, the GCU counted 643 signatories, bringing in more than 700.000 wagons (@ 90% of the freight wagons) in Europe) On April 1 st 2010, 708.381 wagons declared to the GCU, of which @ 2/3 kept by RUs J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

9. IQ 9 The 27 States in which the GCU is implemented J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

10. 10 CASE Nr 1 WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IF A DAMAGE IS NOTICED TO A WAGON DURING THE TRANSPORTATION ? The respective roles of the Using RU, the Keeper and/or his entitled party Wagon damage report (art. 18.1 of the GCU) Putting the wagon back to running order (Article 19.1 of the GCU) Making the wagon fit for use again (Article 19.3 of the GCU) The threshold of 750 € (List of repairs under study) J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

11. 11 CASE Nr 1 (ctd) WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IF A DAMAGE IS NOTICED TO A WAGON DURING THE TRANSPORTATION ? The respective roles of the Using RU, the Keeper and/or his entitled party The proof of liability for the damage (Articles 22 and 24 of the GCU) The threshold of 750 € (List of repairs under study) Wagon under custody of an RU (Article 1.4 of the GCU) (When does the custody of the wagon begin and when is it finished ?) Obligation to mitigate losses (Article 25 of the GCU) J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

12. 12 CASE Nr 2 WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IF A DAMAGE IS NOTICED TO A WAGON AFTER ARRIVAL OR AT A PRIVATE SIDING ? The respective roles of the Using RU, the Keeper and/or his entitled party Reservations made by the consignee → Case Nr 1 No reservation made by the consignee → The wagon is no longer under custody of the RU (art. 1.4 of the GCU) → Reversal the onus of proof (art 24.2 of the GCU) → Repair negotiated by the keeper with a service provider J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

13. 13 CASE Nr 3 WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IF MY WAGON CAUSES AN ACCIDENT OR DAMAGES ? The respective roles of the Using RU, the Keeper and/or his entitled party PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES  Principle of liability : responsabillity of the the keeper when hat fault  But a fault of the keeper should be brought –by the RU - to activate this responsibility.  The RU must inform the keeper that his wagon in involved  Less significant damages (threshold of 17.000 €) (Article 27.4 of the GCU) J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010

14. For further information you may contact: Thank you for your attention 14 The UIP: Avenue Herrmann Debroux 15A B – 1160 Bruxelles Tel: +32 2 672 88 47 Fax: +32 2 672 81 14 Email: info@uiprail.orginfo@uiprail.org J.L. DosquetThe new railway environment01.12.2010