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➢ 1893 - first international Convention regarding international freight traffic by rail
➢ Currently - base Convention with seven Appendices covering various aspects of
international traffic by rail
➢ Is international law
➢ Member States can make declarations not to apply selected parts of COTIF
COTIF – uniform railway law to connect Europe, Asia and Africa
Freight / Passenger Contracts
Legal interoperability
Dangerous Goods Regulation
Exchange of dangerous goods wagons
Technical Regulation
Safe exchange of vehicles
Technical interoperability
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Appendix А
CIV
Uniform Rules
concerning
the Contract
of
International
Carriage
of
Passengers
by Rail
Appendix B
CIM
Uniform Rules
concerning
the Contract
of International
Carriage
of Goods
by Rail
Appendix C
RID
Regulation
concerning
the
International
Carriage
of Dangerous
Goods
by Rail
Appendix D
CUV
Uniform Rules
concerning
Contracts of
Use
of Vehicles
in International
Rail Traffic
Appendix E
CUI
Uniform Rules
concerning
the Contract
of Use of
Infrastructure
in International
Rail Traffic
Appendix F
APTU
Uniform Rules
concerning
the Validation
of Technical
Standards and
Adoption of
Uniform
Technical
Prescriptions
applicable to
Railway
Material
Appendix G
ATMF
Uniform Rules
concerning
the Technical
Admission of
Railway
Material
used
in International
Traffic
COTIF base convention and Appendices - relation to EU and UN rules
COTIF : Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail
LEGAL INTEROPERABILITY TECHNICAL INTEROPERABILITY
7COTIF: neutral regulations
The legal regime can be applied irrespective of the national political, legal or
economic system. In particular:
• railway undertakings may be private or State-owned;
• the railway market may be fully or partly liberalised or non-liberalised;
• the railway market structure may be vertically integrated (railway
undertaking and infrastructure manager form a single entity) or separated
(railway undertaking and infrastructure manager are separate and
independent entities);
• railway undertakings may cooperate or compete.
=> COTIF’s broad geographical scope demonstrates that it works,
irrespective of the political, legal or economic system that exists in
States that have acceded to the COTIF uniform legal system.
10Technical implementation of international rail services
UTPs
TSIs
(common) procurement specifications
System Specific
standards
APTU ATMF
Detailed engineering
11Exchange of vehicles
The traditional model for international rail transport
Border crossing station
Requires, e.g.:
• Wagons and passenger coaches approved for international operation
• Harmonised vehicle interfaces
• Clear responsibilities concerning vehicle maintenance
• Multiple railway undertakings to bring vehicle to its destination
12Technical interoperability: future Appendix H
Running complete trains safely across borders from departure to destination
Requires, e.g.:
• Rolling stock approved for international operation
• Railway undertakings certified to operate in multiple States
• Infrastructure managers capable of working with different RUs
• Clearly defined responsibilities at interfaces between RUs and IM
• Separation between State Authorities and national railway operator
13Telematics Application for freight : transposition into COTIF
Planning of the transposition:
In 2015, the OTIF Secretariat issued a study concerning the possible transposition
of TAF into COTIF. The study addressed
the question of whether TAF should be transposed and if
so, how.
The report and the transposition question were then discussed in the CTE and WG TECH. In general,
there was support for transposition.
It was suggested that the Secretariat organise a TAF
workshop aimed at non-EU MSs. This workshop has been co-organised with
ERA.
As a next step, the CTE should mandate
the start of the transposition work
The transposition could be prepared in 2016/17 to be voted
on at the CTE in June 2017 at the earliest.
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Organisation intergouvernementale pour les transports internationaux ferroviaires
Zwischenstaatliche Organisation für den internationalen Eisenbahnverkehr
Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail
Gryphenhübeliweg 30
CH - 3006 Berne
+ 41 (0)31 359 10 10
www.otif.org