Welcome to the GCU

 

The General Contract of Use for Wagons (GCU) is a multilateral contract based on the international convention COTIF 1999 and Annex CUV. The GCU specifies the mutual rights and obligations of Wagon Keepers (K) and Railway Undertakings (RU) with regard to the use of rail freight wagons as a means of transport throughout Europe and beyond. Since its start in July 2006, the GCU has grown to an impressive network of more than 600 signatories across 20 countries, with around 600,000 wagons currently declared in the GCU wagon database.

This website is the primary source for all contractual information on the GCU. You can download the latest version of the contract and find information on the history of previous amendments. You can look for contact information of other signatories or identify the Keepers of specific wagons by entering the wagon numbers in the publicly accessible GCU Wagon Database.

In addition to the website, each signatory has received a personalized login to the GCU data-platform. Via the data-platform the signatory can manage its contact information and register the wagon numbers of its fleet. Providing accurate information is mandatory under the GCU and each signatory is responsible to manage and update its own information..

Floris Foque, Trustee