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International Union of Railways (UIC) members recently approved a plan to begin enforcing a standard rail-car use contract in Europe on Jan. 1, 2006.

Applying to all car types, the contract will replace current provisions that govern exchanges of 400,000 railroad-owned and 200,000 privately owned cars between railroads.

“The aim was two-fold: to make the cross-border operation of freight trains more efficient and to avoid the need to conclude separate contracts for each wagon movement in international traffic,” UIC officials said in a prepared statement.

The UIC, European Railway Freight Association and International Union of Private Wagon Owners worked jointly to develop the contract’s language. Union officials expect to release a contract users’ guide by year’s end.