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

Private keepers' wagon fleet in numbers

	Type of wagon	2018	2019	2020
Tank wagons	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
Intermodal	Combined	26.367	36.613	37.796
Intermodal	Flat	16.618	26.992	25.297
Hopper wagons	Open hopper	10.977	18.039	17.343
	Covered hopper	11.323	12.496	10.881
	Powder hopper	7.690	7.600	7.727
Conventional	Covered	14.659	16.580	16.121
Conventional	Open box	6.233	7.818	7.093
Special purpose	Car-Carrier	11.630	11.149	11.666
	Coils	3.125	4.415	5.953
	Others	19.703	4.743	4.706

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)