General Contract of Use for Wagons – GCU

Who is responsible for what? In the daily collaboration between wagon keepers and railway undertakings, this question is answered by the GCU

The General Contract of Use for Wagons (GCU) regulates the rights and obligations between wagon keepers and railway undertakings (RU) for the use of freight wagons. It plays the role of “general terms of business” for both sides. Since it was launched in July 2006, more than 700 signatories in 20 lands have signed up to the GCU. Roughly 600,000 wagons are currently registered in the wagon database of the GCU. Anyone working in the railway traffic industry is familiar with this contractual framework with a somewhat ungainly name.

In the last 15 years, the GCU has continued to develop, and VPI has played a major role here. Various international working groups are working continuously to integrate new requirements into the contractual framework. We are committed to lending our expertise to this endeavour. The international convention COTIF 1999 and its appendix CUV form the basis for this multilateral contract.

You can find extensive additional information on the website of the GCU Bureau.

A short video on YouTube offers a clear explanation of the GCU.

You can find extensive additional information on the COTIF website.