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 238’000 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 238’000 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 2024

Hover over each part of the pie for more details

Private keepers' wagon fleet in numbers

Type of wagon	2022	2023	2024
RID but not class-2	55.725	55.508	56.296
RID class 2	20.095	19.508	19.695
Non-RID	6.657	6.641	6.753
Total tank	82.477	81.657	82.744
Combined	41.381	45.830	47.896
Flat	25.846	26.211	27.425
Total intermodal	67.227	72.041	75.321
Open hopper	17.125	16.192	16.529
Covered hopper	11.278	11.264	12.839
Powder hopper	7.654	7.332	7.151
Total hopper	36.057	34.788	36.519
Covered	14.976	15.610	16.118
Open box	9.760	10.865	12.053
Total conventional	24.736	26.475	28.171
Car-Carrier	11.874	13.019	13.539
Coils	8.229	7.564	8.746
Others	3.602	3.309	3.318
Total special purpose	23.705	23.892	25.603

TOTAL WAGON FLEET	234.202	238.853	248.358

Our strategic objectives

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

increase the awareness among policy and decision makers of the role of the wagon keepers in the railway system and in the logistics supply-chain
develope an economically sound long-term vision for investments in rail freight wagons
ensure fair market conditions between transport modes and fair intramodal competition (freight vs. passenger)
develop 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
promote regulatory stability and consistency at EU level to ensure wagon interoperability and safety while respecting the lifecycle of the assets (25-35 years)