International Wagon Regulations

The International Wagon Regulations 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 They were superseded on 1 July 2006 by the General Contract of Use for Freight Wagons . 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 The remainder were superseded by the AVV and replaced or rescinded.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 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.