As part of a recurring series, UIC held its Fit for Freight Autumn Days event on 25-27 November 2025 with three key webinars.
Philip Van den Bosch, UIC Freight Department, opened and coordinated this Autumn session, by detailing the UIC Freight Competence Centres and their aims. Then, the first Fit4Freight session held on 25 November brought together the sector for an in-depth session on the UIC Loading Guidelines and the Regulation concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID). With growing interest from Middle Eastern partners, the discussion focused on how harmonised technical and regulatory frameworks can reinforce safe and efficient rail freight operations across international corridors.
Hakan Günel, UIC Freight Department, presented the UIC Loading Guidelines, explaining their role as a practical, engineering-based reference for safe loading and load securing. Recognised by the European Union Agency for Railways as an Acceptable Means of Compliance, the guidelines remain a cornerstone for safe wagon use across Europe and beyond. Joost Overdijkink, UIC Freight Department, then guided participants through the legal and operational foundations of RID. He highlighted the global relevance of the UN Model Regulations, the governance structure of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), and the alignment of RID with multimodal dangerous goods frameworks. His presentation included concrete operational examples, extracted from IRS 40471-3, to illustrate the proper inspection of consignments, tank integrity checks, placarding, and the management of irregularities.
Participants raised several operational questions, including marking responsibilities, the sealing of discharge valves, and the use of Safety Data Sheets. The session concluded with a detailed sharing of best practices and a call for continued cooperation as more countries prepare to adopt harmonised dangerous goods rules.
The second session, held on 26 November and introduced by Parinaz Bazeghi, UIC Freight Department, focused on the Harmonised Goods Nomenclature (NHM) commodity codes, explaining the world of product coding in the rail sector. She clarified what NHM is, describing it as a set of harmonised commodity code used to classify goods in railway transport, and outlined where NHM codes are applied, such as in the Consignment Note and Hermes 30.
She also highlighted the difference between NHM and Harmonised System (HS) codes, particularly in relation to customs procedures, and highlighted the operational use of Chapter 99 for railway purposes. Her presentation was followed by insights and practical experiences from a European railway undertaking perspective, shared by Dirk Schade, DB Cargo.
The final event, on 27 November, was dedicated to the Agreement on freight Train Transfer Inspections (ATTI) and its ATTI Morning, coordinated by Paulo de Freitas, UIC Freight Department. Chaired by Dirk Euler, DB Cargo, the session offered an overview of ATTI basics and its aims – to enhance interoperability in Europe by removing time-consuming checks at every border – and the key features of the ATTI Quality Management System (QMS) database.
