On 11 June 2026, the General Assembly of the Agreement on Freight Train Transfer Inspections (ATTI) Special Group was held online, bringing together railway undertakings that are committed to improving the quality and efficiency of international rail freight transport.
The meeting was opened by Dirk Euler, DB Cargo, Chair of the ATTI Special Group, who welcomed participants and introduced the members of the ATTI Executive Committee: Alain Voltz, HEXAFRET; Gaël Castagné, DB Cargo France; Fabiola Stori, Rail Traction Company; Thomas Dangl, Rail Cargo Austria; and Jan Kavřík, ČD Cargo.
Bertrand Minary, UIC Director of Passenger, Freight, Operations and Safety, highlighted the importance of ATTI in supporting freight interoperability and addressing future challenges, including digitalisation and regulatory changes. He also underlined UIC’s role in developing railway standards and supporting the sector through expertise, services, and training.
Following the presentation of the agenda by Euler, Paulo de Freitas, UIC Senior Freight Advisor, announced that 17 new railway undertakings had joined ATTI since the last General Assembly, bringing total membership to 198 railway undertakings.
Kavřík shared the activities of the Executive Committee during the 2025-2026 period, focusing on the reform of the General Contract of Use for Wagons (GCU), the development of the ATTI strategy, revisions to the agreement text, and future improvements to the ATTI Quality Management System (QMS) database.
Alain Voltz detailed the ongoing revision of GCU Appendix 9, aimed at aligning its scope with contractual requirements. He also talked about the new IRS 40436, entitled ‘Technical Transfer Inspection – TTI-25’, which came into force on 1 January 2026 and is available free of charge on the UIC website: https://shop.uic.org/.
Euler then introduced a proposal for further development of the ATTI strategy under the theme ‘ATTI – The Key to Interoperability.’ The proposal outlines priorities for the coming years, including strengthening confidence in ATTI, improving monitoring processes, harmonising language versions of the agreement, and further developing the ATTI QMS database and web application. The proposal was approved by the General Assembly. He also provided updates concerning Appendix 2 (Quality Guidelines) and IRS 40474.
Dangl presented a proposal concerning Appendix 3 of the ATTI Agreement, which addressed irregularity reports. The proposal aims to remove the requirement for a specific report format while maintaining mandatory compliance with the content and numbering of report fields. It also recommends the continued use of the existing templates available through the UIC Extranet until a future ATTI IT solution is developed for creating and transmitting irregularity reports. The proposed amendments to Appendix 3 were approved by the General Assembly.
Euler then provided an update on the election process for railway undertaking representation on the Executive Committee and the current expression of interest for an available seat. At the time of the meeting, there were no formal candidates.
De Freitas presented the final accounts for 2025, the provisional 2026 budget, and a forecast for 2027. The budget for the 2025–2027 period was formally approved.
Euler provided an overview of developments relating to the ATTI QMS database, including quality indicators, communication processes, and operational data. They noted a significant increase in the number of Technical Transfer Inspections (TTI) carried out in 2025, reflecting the growing use of the ATTI framework.
Participants were also informed of planned editorial revisions to the ATTI Agreement, aimed at improving clarity and consistency across language versions without changing the substance of the text. In addition, a proposal submitted by SBB Cargo International concerning the introduction of an ATTI guideline on the nature and scope of train preparation, in accordance with Technical Specifications for Interoperability Operation and Traffic Management (TSI OPE), was presented for future discussion.
Concluding the meeting, Euler thanked participants for their contributions and announced that the next ATTI General Assembly is provisionally scheduled for 8 June 2027. He also encouraged all of the participants to complete the post-event feedback survey.
