6.7 Railway wagons

6.7.1       In intermodal transport, railway wagons are used for two different purposes: First, they may be used as carrier unit to transport other CTUs such as freight containers, swap bodies or semi-trailers. Second, they may be used as a CTU themselves which is packed or loaded with cargo and run by rail or by sea on a railway ferry.

6.7.2       The first mentioned purpose is exclusively served by open wagons, which are specifically fitted with devices for securing freight containers, inland containers and swap bodies or have dedicated bedding devices for accommodating road vehicles, in particular semi-trailers. The second mentioned purpose is served by multifunctional closed or open wagons, or wagons which have special equipment for certain cargoes, e.g. coil hutches, pipe stakes or strong lashing points.

6.7.3       On board ferries the shunting twin hooks are normally used for securing the wagon to the ship’s deck. These twin hooks have a limited strength and therefore some wagons are equipped with additional stronger ferry eyes. These external lashing points should never be used for securing cargo to the wagon.

6.7.4       The maximum payload is generally not a fixed value for the distinguished wagon, but allocated case by case by means of the intended track category and the speed category. More details are provided in annex 4, subsection 5.1.5.

6.7.5       In case of concentrated loads a reduction of the payload is required, which depends on the loaded length and the way of bedding the concentrated load. The applicable load figures are marked on each wagon. Also any longitudinal or transverse eccentricity of concentrated loads is limited by the individual axle load capacity or the wheel load capacity. More details are provided in annex 4, subsection 5.1.6.

6.7.6       Closed railway wagons are designed for the compact stowage of cargo. The securing of cargo should be accomplished by tight packing or blocking to the boundaries of the wagon. However, wagons equipped with sliding doors should be packed in a way that doors remain operable.

6.7.7       When a railway ferry is operating between railway systems of different gauges, wagons which are capable for changing their wheel sets over from standard gauge to broad gauge or vice versa are employed. Such wagons are identified by the first two figures of the wagon number code.