UNECE GEURL: CIT Documents for Eurasian Rail Freight Transportation GEURL Meeting, 13-14 June 2016, Geneva Cesare Brand Secretary General to the CIT

Legal necessity for harmonisation Summary: Legal necessity for harmonisation Market necessity for global rail freight Common consignment note Next steps and practical implementation 2

International Railway Cooperation and Uniform railway law SMGS/SMPS EU legislation Eurasian Uniform Railway Law COTIF-CIM National legislation

Unified Rail Transport Law Solutions to increase railway competitiveness: UNECE Joint Declaration Joint Declaration on the promotion of Euro-Asian Rail Transport and activities towards Unified Railway Law (26 February 2013, Geneva): Important step towards a solution to unify different legal regimes State of play: Draft legal provisions is being discussed within the UNECE Groups of Experts towards Unified Railway Law (GUERL) 26 February 2016 Decision of the ITC for implementation of the draft legal provisions for pilot transportation CIT supports all efforts at the governmental level and encourages legislation that is suitable from the viewpoint of the carriers to promote competitiveness of the Eurasia rail freight transportation SMGS COTIF/CIM Unified Rail Transport Law

Potential for parcels transportation between China and Europe by rail

Opportunities & challenges for railway companies today: Eurasian Freight Corridors - An existing market with potential Freight traffic China-Europe ~ 90% Sea/40 days < 10% Air/1 day ~ 1% Railway/ ~15 days ~ 30 freight trains per week 6

Scope of application of CIM and SMGS: Legal Duality Situation on 1st June 2016 SMGS CIM CIM + SMGS Membership suspended Associate Member

Manual for the common paper and electronic Consignment note CIM/SMGS Parties to the contract (point 10) Example A: Traffic CIM  SMGS SMGS CIM Reconsignment point CIM/SMGS Consignor Consignee Consignor Consignee CIM CIM SMGS SMGS Example B: Traffic SMGS  CIM CIM SMGS Reconsignment point CIM/SMGS Consignor Consignee Consignor Consignee SMGS SMGS CIM CIM

GLV-CIM/SMGS - Content General provisions Common Provisions for paper and electronic consignment notes Paper consignment note Electronic consignment note Final provisions Appendices List of members applying the manual Explanatory notes on the content of the CIM/SMGS consignment note List of reconsignment points List of the addresses of departments to which applications for authorisation are to be sent Specimen of the CIM/SMGS consignment note Packaging requirements CIM/SMGS wagon/container list CIM/SMGS formal report List of addresses of the departments competent for the handling of claims

Common CIM/SMGS consignment note Implements both contracts of carriage Recognised as a customs and bank document Does not undermine the CIM/SMGS liability conditions The “sum” of the CIM and SMGS consignment notes Based on: - Article 6 § 8 CIM + Article 13 and Annex 6 SMGS - Layout based on the United Nations Layout - Key for trade documents

Common CIM/SMGS consignment note: Practical Use for east west rail freight traffic on the Eurasian rail bridge 85% Container transportation 18% Single wagon load further facilitations (wagon and container list, formal report and formal procedure, etc.) further legal harmonisation

Electronic CIM/SMGS Consignment Note Functional specifications: updated based on the revision of SMGS (1 January 2016) Legal specifications: to be analyzed an updated in 2016 Current work: Ad hoc technical WG on e-consignment note CIM/SMGS (CIT, OSJD, RAILDATA and experts from CIM & SMGS RUs) Tasks: - revision of the technical specifications; - work towards development of the XML/EDIFACT converter; - the role of electronic signature in SMGS area.

Further steps: Objectives for the next months: extend the application of the consignment note CIM/SMGS in practice Especially for pilot transportation of postal items on the transcontinental transportation between Europe and China on the TransSib and the Silk Road Using of the UNECE draft text for the Container trains transportation between China and Europe trough the Countries of Central Asia and Russia Using for the intermodal transportation on the Baltic Sea and Black Sea Implementing the UNECE draft legal provisions in the single business contracts on the corridors as model prescriptions or GTC (General Terms and Conditions) for the rail carriers

Success story for the railways Good Quality of infrastructure Technical interoperability (vehicle authorisation and safety certification) Level playing field with other transport modes Competitive and transparent charges for use of infrastructure Less administrative burdens: New regulatory requirements when customers benefit Stable and fair legal framework

Conclusions Electronic CIM/SMGS consignment note Best case: transportation of postal items by rail Unified Rail Transport Law – UNECE/OTIF/OSJD Savings in time and costs Simplification of customs formalities Greater legal certainty Larger share of the market

Cesare Brand Secretary General to the CIT Tel: + 41 31 350 01 93 E-mail: cesare.brand@cit-rail.org www.cit-rail.org