 Why a GCU Forum ?
The UIP ran a questionnaire action among its member associations in the middle of last year, and the findings indicate that railway undertakings (RUs) are failing to correctly apply important parts of the GCU.
The problems recorded related in part to difficulties which already existed in the framework of the former UIC Leaflet 433, but partly, too, fresh problems were occurring because no single national interlocutor was now available, having been replaced by the ‘using RU’. The fact that this may be based anywhere in Europe makes it difficult in the case of a transport chain for the wagon keeper to establish responsibility in the event of damage. In addition, in their conditions of sale, some RUs disregard unilaterally certain rules of the GCU.
For these reasons, the GCU Forum will now plug the clear information gap.
The aim of the new GCU Forum is to provide the private wagon keepers who have signed up to the GCU with assistance in
► resolving problems in connection with the interpretation and application of the GCU,
► analysing particular provisions in the GCU, in relation specifically to liability,
► respecting their rights in the case of a dispute with an RU.
To this end, two separate areas will be available, which require an access code:
♦ area: Free Discussion: This is where any GCU member can post information about its problems, and discuss them with other keepers which are facing or have in the past been faced with similar problems in the same country or another country;
♦ area: Information, Advice: This is where practical advice (guidelines) and professional opinions from legal and technical experts on concrete topics will be published, for instance on ‘Damage to wagons or caused by wagons’, or ‘Compensation for loss of use’. In addition, questions or problems which arise in the ‘Free Discussion’ Forum and are of general interest for wagon keepers will be analysed.
The Forum is accessible on the UIP website. As with the UIP library, every person entitled to have access will have a login and a password.
Basically, use of the Forum is open to every wagon keeper in Europe which has signed up to the GCU. The only proviso is that the wagon keeper must be a member of a national UIP association.
The Forum is a valuable tool for the UIP in its deliberations with the RUs in the framework of the GCU Joint Committee. This means that it is in the interest of every wagon keeper to participate in this platform.
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