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Wagon numbers (or coach numbers) are key data for railway operations. They enable a railway wagon or coach to be positively identified and form a common language between railway operators, infrastructure companies and the state authorities. The system of wagon numbering has been laid down by the
International Union of Railways
The International Union of Railways (UIC, french: Union internationale des wikt:chemin de fer, chemins de fer) is an international rail transport industry body.
History
The railways of Europe originated as many separate concerns, and there wer ...
(''Union internationale des chemins de fer'' or ''UIC'', founded in 1922) and is similar to that used for the
locomotives and multiple units. Vehicle numbering is now governed by the
Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail and in
Technical Specifications for Interoperability
A technical specification for interoperability (abbreviated as TSI) is a text provided for in European Directive 2016/797 adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the interoperability of the European rail system ...
(TSI) of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
The complete wagon number comprises 12 digits. The individual digits have the following meaning:
Placement of the code
As shown on the photographs at right, the code may be arranged either vertically (e.g. on closed wagons) on three or more lines at man's height with the letter codes next to the corresponding part of the digit code, or horizontally (e.g. on flat wagons) at the bottom of the chassis side with all digits together (with groups separated by spaces and the check digit by a dash) and all letters together. It is always found on both sides of the wagon, not on the front or back.
Calculation of the self-check digit
The digits are multiplied individually from right to left alternately by 2 and 1, and
digit sum
In mathematics, the digit sum of a natural number in a given number base is the sum of all its digits. For example, the digit sum of the decimal number 9045 would be 9 + 0 + 4 + 5 = 18.
Definition
Let n be a natural number. We define the digit ...
med using the
Luhn algorithm
The Luhn algorithm or Luhn formula, also known as the " modulus 10" or "mod 10" algorithm, named after its creator, IBM scientist Hans Peter Luhn, is a simple checksum formula used to validate a variety of identification numbers, such as credit ...
. The difference between this sum and the next multiple of ten is the check digit, placed after the eleventh digit, separated by a dash.
Examples
Wagon number: 21 81 2471 217
2 1 – 8 1 – 2 4 7 1 2 1 7
multiplying by
2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
gives
4 1 16 1 4 4 14 1 4 1 14
digit sum
4 1 7 1 4 4 5 1 4 1 5 sum = 37, next multiple of ten = 40 => check digit = 3
Wagon number: 51 80 0843 001
5 1 8 0 0 8 4 3 0 0 1
multiplying by
2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
gives
10 1 16 0 0 8 8 3 0 0 2
digit sum
1 1 7 0 0 8 8 3 0 0 2 sum = 30, next multiple of ten = 30 => check digit = 0
Country code
At the beginning of 2006 the country replaced the owner (almost exclusively state railways), with the owner now indicated by following letters. For example, for a vehicle registered in Germany on the
AAE, which had its own code as a private railway, "68 AAE" became "80
D-AAE".
(see also
UIC country code
The UIC Country Code is a two digit-number identifying countries in which members of the International Union of Railways (UIC) are active. The UIC has issued numbering systems for rolling stock (UIC wagon numbers) and stations that include the coun ...
)
Reading of numbers
Numbers are read visually, the method of choice today (2008). No railway is able to read the number automatically with the required reliability (less than 1 error in 10,000). Using OCR readers the numbering (DB AG: Font ''Gerade Normschrift'' DIN 16 Variant DB) can be only be read to an accuracy of no better than 5% (1 in 20).
Numbering systems
The UIC has the following numbering systems, as detailed in leaflets:
* Leaflet 419-2 - Analytical numbering of international freight trains.
* Leaflet 428-1 - International sorting system for wagonload traffic.
* Leaflet 438-2 - Identification marking for freight rolling stock.
* Leaflet 920-1 - Standard numerical coding for railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and others companies involved in rail-transport chains.
* Leaflet 920-2 - Standard numerical coding of locations.
* Leaflet 920-10 - Standard numerical code for railway customers.
* Leaflet 920-14 - Standard numerical country coding for use in railway traffic.
[Leaflet 920-14, ''Standard numerical country coding for use in railway traffic'', Obligatory, 2nd edition, March 2005 - Translation, 2/05 (issued 1/05/2005), {{ISBN, 2-7461-0929-8]
These agreements have not yet achieved the status of a standard or norm.
See also
*
DB locomotive classification Originally, both Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn continued the classification system of the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) – see also a short overview of the numbering system of the German railways. When UIC introduced a new classif ...
*
UIC classification of goods wagons
This list contains the UIC classification of goods wagons and their meanings. The description is made up of a category letter (in capitals) and usually several index letters (in lower case).
The international system for the classification of good ...
*
UIC classification of railway coaches Railway coaches are classified under an international system developed by the UIC. This UIC classification of railway coaches replaced earlier national classification schemes in many countries, such as Germany. The coach class is expressed as a com ...
*
UIC identification marking for tractive stock
The UIC identification marking for tractive stock is a standard for identifying train stock like locomotives that supply tractive force primarily in Europe. Since the beginning of 2007 locomotives or other traction units in Europe have been give ...
*
UIC passenger coach types The UIC type X, Y and Z coaches are passenger coaches for international railway services that have been standardised in certain respects by the International Union of Railways (''Union internationale des chemins de fer'' or UIC).
In 1961, types X ...
*
UIC country codes
The UIC Country Code is a two digit-number identifying countries in which members of the International Union of Railways (UIC) are active. The UIC has issued numbering systems for rolling stock (UIC wagon numbers) and stations that include the cou ...
*
Reporting mark
A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...
s, identifiers used on North American railroads
*
ISO 6346
ISO 6346 is an international standard covering the coding, identification and marking of intermodal (shipping) containers used within containerized intermodal freight transport by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ...
, used for
intermodal containers
An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship ...
References
External links
Description of UIC wagon numbers in UIC 438(website by Per Topp Nielsen)
Passenger railroad cars
Freight rolling stock
Wagon numbers
Rail transport standards
Rail transport in Europe
Railway vehicles register numbers