About

Who we are

Founded in 1950, the UIP – International Union of Wagon Keepers, with its seat in Brussels, is the umbrella association of national associations from fourteen European countries, thus representing more than 250 freight wagon keepers and ECMs with more than 220’000 freight wagons, performing 50 % of the rail freight tonne-Kilometres throughout Europe. The UIP represents the members’ concerns at international level. By means of research, lobbying and focused cooperation with all stakeholders and organisations interested in rail freight transportation, the UIP wants to secure on the long term the future of rail freight transport.

What we represent

As the voice for more than 220’00 rail freight wagons, we represent one of the most important resources for rail freight transportation in Europe. At UIP our priority is to support wagon keepers and those who have a role as Entities in Charge of Maintenance in achieving higher economic performance and adapting to modern logistics chain requirements.

In Economic terms, UIP stands for:

a 12bn € private investment in existing rolling stock
a yearly 400 – 500mio € private investment in new rolling stock

Private keepers' wagon fleet 2020

Hover over each part of the pie for more details

Private keepers' wagon fleet in numbers

Type of wagon	2018	2019	2020
RID but not class-2	48.851	50.261	53.020
RID class 2	16.888	17.446	19.158
Non-RID	8.713	10.763	6.520
Total tank	74.452	78.470	78.698
Combined	26.367	36.613	37.796
Flat	16.618	26.992	25.297
Total intermodal	42.985	63.605	63.093
Open hopper	10.977	18.039	17.343
Covered hopper	11.323	12.496	10.881
Powder hopper	7.690	7.600	7.727
Total hopper	29.990	38.135	35.951
Covered	14.659	16.580	16.121
Open box	6.233	7.818	7.093
Total conventional	20.892	24.398	23.214
Car-Carrier	11.630	11.149	11.666
Coils	3.125	4.415	5.953
Others	19.703	4.743	4.706
Total special purpose	34.458	20.307	22.325

TOTAL WAGON FLEET	202.777	224.915	223.281

Our strategic objectives

Looking at improving the attractiveness and competitiveness of rail freight services in Europe, we aim at:

increasing the awareness among policy and decision makers of the role of the wagon keepers in the railway system and in the logistics supply-chain
developing an economically sound long-term vision for investments in rail freight wagons
ensuring fair market conditions between transport modes and fair intramodal competition (freight vs. passenger)
developing a common culture for efficient exchanges of information and relevant data among the actors in the railway system and the supply chain, including freight customers
promoting regulatory stability and consistency at EU level to ensure wagon interoperability and safety while respecting the lifecycle of the assets (25-35 years)