The International Wagon Regulations (' or ''{{lang, it, Regolamento Internazionale dei Veicoli'' ) or RIV about the international use of goods wagons in Europe were first agreed between the European railways in 1922. They were superseded on 1 July 2006 by the
General Contract of Use for Freight Wagons
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...
(AVV). Nevertheless, the letters RIV continue to stand for goods wagons that are used internationally. Only the loading regulations in Annex II remain in force until further notice. The remainder were superseded by the AVV and replaced or rescinded.
Technical requirements
The RIV laid down the technical requirements that a wagon had to meet in order to be used in international service. Wagons that fulfilled these requirements were given the letters ''RIV'' and were allowed to be used on all RIV railways without special permission. It was possible to tell from the first two numbers of the 12-digit
wagon number
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 ...
whether it was a RIV wagon. They were given the numbers:
*01-09
*11-19
*21-29
*31-39
although not all numbers in the sequence were used.
Non-RIV wagons
Wagons without the RIV designation could be used in foreign countries if they were used on special, pre-agreed, services. If a wagon was neither RIV-approved nor on a special service agreed with the country concerned, it had to be classed as an exceptional transport service.
Loading regulations
The loading regulations are covered in Annex II of the RIV; the transfer inspection of goods wagons in Volume XII.
See also
*
International Coach Regulations {{short description, Regulations covering international use of passenger coaches among European railways
The International Coach Regulations or RIC (Regolamento Internazionale delle Carrozze) were first agreed in 1922 and covered the international u ...
References
External links
Future of the RIV agreement under new conditions
Rail transport in Europe
Freight rolling stock
International Union of Railways
Rail transport standards