Wagon Status in EUROPE

 

We assist at the revolutionizing without precedent of the conceptions regarding the transport on railway in Europe. All this dynamism is based on the necessity to elaborate an efficient railway transport system in a more and more aggressive and global economy. The concerns regarding the railway transport at European Union level has been reflected through the adoption of the Directive no. 91/440/CEE that was modified afterwards through Directive 12, 13, and 14 from 2001 with respect to the liberalizing railway transport. This fact led to the creation of a new juridical situation at the European railway system level, aspect reflected especially in the radical modification of the wagon status in comparison with its former status. If in the past, not so long ago, railway transport represented an absolute monopoly of the status, presently, taking into consideration only the motives of the economical efficiency, the access on the infrastructure is profoundly liberalized. The economical philosophy of this decision emphasizes the increase of the circulation liberalization in the European territory, for couches and wagons, especially for freight wagons, having the purpose to make efficient this mean of transportation. It is not less true that in comparison with the other transport systems the railway is in a bitter competition, which puts a question mark on its existence. As you can see, the selected solution is not a technical one, but an economical one, with profound juridical involvement.

Once with the change of the juridical status of the railway also changes the juridical status of the rolling stock. In this context, there has been forwarded the international right principle related to the "new right of the wagon". The development of this concept has the purpose to increase the operational capacity on the railway on the pan- European territory. This was the theme for the study drawn up by a group of experts within UIC, under the management of Mr. Manfred Hamann, on a number of 11 European national railway networks. In this respect there has been used the positive experience related to the private wagons utilization on railway networks in order to define the future status of the wagon in Europe, because, there is no doubt, the registration and the exploitation of the private wagons (P) represents a different field of the right of transport which is not present in other types of transport. I will begin this first part of the article by developing the conclusions related to the private wagons, which are considered a model in comparison with the wagons of the network. In fact, in all UIC documents it is shown that the elimination of the discriminations between these two types of wagons is a compulsory and collective goal. The criteria after which the role, which defines the new status of the wagon, are: historical, juridical, of fleet and economical.

 

HISTORICAL

The history of the railways is identified with the history of the private wagons. It is known that the development of railway transport in Europe was connected with the private initiative, because the daring pioneers and enterprising persons must sustain the idea of rail transport. For example, in Germany, after only three years from the opening of the first railway section, which linked Nurnberg and Furth, has been adopted, on November 3rd, 1838, the law referring to the railway companies. Registration and exploitation of the private wagons were an objective necessity of the Romanian economy, which knew a fast and powerful industrialization. Energetic industry needed more and more coal, transported in special wagons, private ones.

Thus, in 1874 various European railway administrations applied the concept of "General conditions for the registration of the private freight wagons", thus emphasizing the level of development of this type of transport. Private wagons utilization on railway, in the conditions of a state monopoly, should be regulated within an authorization contract, a contract that gave the right to "dispose freely" of your own wagon on the railway, in certain clear conditions. In this period a series of leasing companies have been developed, which had the purpose to exploit efficiently the private wagons in comparison with the railway networks. This way the relationship private wagon - registering railway network gain a new dimension, a dimension where appeared other companies with specific profiles (exploitation, repairs, renting etc.). In order to be able to defend its rights in an efficient way the owners of the wagons have formed groups in national associations, as: in Germany - Vereinigung der Privaterwagen-Interessanten (VPI), in France - l'Association Francaise des Wagons de Particuliers (AFWP), in England - Private Wagon Federation-Homelea, in Sweden - Svenska Privatgnforeningen. These national associations have reunited at international level within the Union International d'Association de Proprietaires de Wagon Particuliers (UIP) in 1950.

After the recovery of the economical relations between East and West in Europe, the wagon owners from the former Communist countries had urged to group themselves in national associations. This happened in Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, and on April 4th, 2001 also Romania, where it was founded the National Association of Private Wagons Owners in Romania (AVP). AVP settled its headquarters in Victoria town, and due to the fact that during the first mandate of its president, Mr. Sorin Branzea, was accomplished the union with UIP the headquarters was moved to Bucharest. AVP has important goals, among which we can mention: the co-optation of new members in order to become a representative professional association in this branch of activity, the negotiation of a new registration contract, the development of a common strategy in railway transport field in comparison with the repairing companies etc.

European railway networks have been grouped in 1992 within Union International des Chemin des Fer (UIC). In 1923, on the occasion of the third conference for the revision of CIM have been introduced the first regulations with respect to the private wagons. Starting with 1938 came in force the International Regulation for Private Wagon Transport (RIP) as an annex to CIM. The dynamic of the transport with private wagons made that in 1953 to appear a new RIP, which is in force till present time. The theme of "responsibility" represented the main concern in the discussions UIC/UIP since 1950. Only in 1955 has been published the first version of 433 UIC File, under the name of "Private Wagons. Wagon operation and registration". There also occurred the juridical concept of guarantee granting, which became the angular bases of the juridical frame regarding the responsibility. During the time 433 UIC File had had numerous modifications, namely, numerous editions. In order to be administrated thoroughly 433 UIC File the Working group has been founded for the control of 433 File application (CGU). In October, 2000, in Prague, within the common working meeting UIC/UIP has been adopted the 19th edition with application starting with January 1st, 2001.

We can conclude that from historical point of view the transport on railway with private wagons has been developed only through the efficient co-operation position of the railway networks, which granted the essential rights for the private wagons owners: the right to have available the rolling stock and the right to a certain protection on the railway.

 

JURIDICAL

From the juridical point of view the situation of the private wagons stipulates norms that appear among four right distinct subjects.

1. The holder of the record of the registration contract is that right subject who obtained "technical authorization" to implement its wagon in the fleet of a registering railway network. It is very important to distinguish here two situations:
    a. the holder of the record of the registering contract is also the owner of the wagons;
    b. the holder of the record of the registering contract is somebody else, not the owner of the wagons, which is a third party.

2. Railway network, which is related to the holder of the record through the registration contract. There are two types of railway network:
    a. registering railway network;
    b. user railway network.

3. The lessor is the economical agent who rented from the holder of the record the right to use private wagons on the railway.

4. The expeditor is the economical agent able to dispose the expedition in traffic of the private wagons.

In a transport juridical report one or more right subjects can miss, being substituted by the holder of the record of the contract, who can be the owner of the wagons, the lessor and the expeditor of them. We will analyze further on the juridical relations that are issued between the various right subjects from this construction, studying the most complex situation. The basis of the juridical relations in which private wagons are is presented in the registering contract, based on the "registering conditions". When the private wagon also accomplishes freight transport, it is also added to this contract the transport contract. Registering contract is a juridical report, which is issued between the right subjects having al capacity of right.

In international traffic of the railway networks are linked by international contracts, as conventions, respectively UIC file of technical regulations.

 

FLEET STRUCTURE

From the comparison made among the private wagons and network wagons from the historical a juridical point of view we reached to final conclusion for the new status of the wagon. These important aspects will be issued from the comparison of the fleet of wagons, as well as their destination. We can see that at European level private wagons are specialized according to the type of transported goods:

- liquid, liquid gas and oil, under their all types,
- iron and iron ore,
- machines and equipment,
- cars and spare parts for cars,
- powdery goods.

Network wagons fleet includes most of all covered wagons, uncovered wagons with high walls and platform-wagons. From the study performed on the 11 European railway networks it occur the fact that in the structure of the network wagons fleet the pounding of Z wagons is of almost 3%. In case of private ones the pounding is exactly inversely proportional to it, namely special wagons U, Z, I represent 2/3 from the structure of the fleet. General tendency in Europe is that the private wagons to constitute 20% and 30% from the general fleet of wagons, railway networks MAV (Hungarian Railway), CFL (Railways from Luxembourg) and DSB (Danish Railway), with percentage under 10%, of SNCF (France), with a percentage of 50% representing an exception. The report of network wagons - private wagons within CFR is of 80% to 20%, this way being alike with the general state of the European fleets of wagons. Statistical situation of P wagons registered within "CFR Marfa" is presented according to the below graphs. From the comparison performed with other European railway networks consists in the percentage structure of the fleet of wagons from CFR is relatively alike with the general European structure of the fleet of wagons. We present you below in order to exemplify the structure of the fleet of wagons of DB-AG on December 31, 1996. Of a total of 95,158 network wagons a number of 19,261 wagons are registered as private wagons. According to the wagons profile we can have the following structure of the fleet:

Wagons Group	Network Wagons	Private Wagons	Wagons Group	Network Wagons	Private Wagons
E.	9.812	301	U.	1.573	8.025
F.	11.851	1.613	K.	12.852	7
G.	7.240	13	L.	5.600	780
Ha.	100	6.473	R.	15.123	530
S.	11.096	768	T.	7.850	109

From the presented situation of DB-AG it can be noticed easily that for the series of profiled wagons the biggest percentage of the fleet of wagons is held by P wagons, while the network holds wagons meant for transport means of general use goods. From this point of view we can reach the incontestable conclusion that between the holders of the record of P wagons and the railway networks there is no economical competition, each of them carrying a different type of freight.

 

Nucu Morar