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  • schwarzes Kind freut sich über Wasser
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    Who we are


    The Rail Working Group

    AN INTEREST GROUP
    REPRESENTING THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY

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    Financing railway equipment


    The Luxembourg Rail
    Protocol

    A world-wide legal framework
    to recognise and regulate security interests

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    Calendar


    Events & Meetings

    WHEN’S THE NEXT
    MEETING OR EVENT?

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    RWG Membership


    BECOME A MEMBER

    Membership is open to all stakeholders in the rail industry
    who support the RWG’s objectives and accept its principles.

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    WHO BENEFITS


    KEY TALKING POINTS

    WHY THE PROTOCOL
    IS SO IMPORTANT

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    Newsletter


    Inside Track

    “Inside Track” is the e-newsletter
    published by the Rail Working Group

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The Rail Working Group

The 2001 Cape Town Convention on international interests in mobile equipment

The Rail Working Group (RWG) is a not-for-profit group established at the request of UNIDROIT (the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) to represent the position of the rail industry relating to adoption and implementation of the 2007 Luxembourg Protocol to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on matters relating to railway rolling stock (the Luxembourg Rail Protocol).

The Luxembourg Rail Protocol


RWG emerging opportunities


The Luxembourg Rail Protocol – Moving Africa Forward


The Luxembourg Rail Protocol


Current News

Luxembourg Rail Protocol included in new UK Draft Rail Reform Bill

11. March 2024
Luxembourg Rail Protocol included in new UK Draft Rail Reform Bill The UK government’s long-awaited Draft Rail Reform Bill, published last week, includes a clause authorising the government to proceed with ratification of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol, subject to appropriate consultation.

The Luxembourg Rail Protocol enters into force

8. March 2024
The Luxembourg Rail Protocol enters into force At a ceremony today during a special intergovernmental meeting at the Universal Postal Union in Bern, Switzerland, the Luxembourg Rail Protocol to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment formally entered into force.

Key Talking Points

  • The Protocol creates a new global legal system for the recognition and prioritisation of security interests held by creditors in railway equipment. These interests will be registered in a new international registry, which is searchable by the public 24/7. This makes it possible, for the first time, for all interested parties to easily learn of a creditor’s security interest, and for that creditor to be able to enforce its security in cases of debtor default or insolvency.
  • Our key task is to press for the implementation of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol in as many countries as quickly as possible but ensuring that the operation of the Protocol does not lose touch with the commercial realities of the rail industry.
  • The Protocol will introduce a new unique identification system for railway equipment. It applies to all equipment running above, on, or under a permanent guide-way; from high-speed to light rail trains, from freight locomotives and wagons to trams and subways, and from people movers at airports to gantries and cranes running on rails at ports.
  • The Protocol covers all debtors located in a ratifying state, for example in a financial centre, regardless of the location of the railway equipment. It covers the financing of railway equipment through leases, secured credit agreements and conditional sale contracts.
  • By securing the creditor, the Protocol will draw in much more, and cheaper, finance from the private sector for railway equipment. This will lead to a more competitive and dynamic rail sector, plus more investment in the industry.
  • The Protocol should relieve governments, as well as state- and privately owned operators, of the need to allocate precious capital to rolling stock. This is particularly important for developing countries where an extensive and well-functioning rail sector is critical for economic growth.

Premium Members

The RWG is grateful to the following Premium members for their additional support of the association.

The RWG

  • The Protocol should relieve governments, as well as state- and privately owned operators, of the need to allocate precious capital to rolling stock. This is particularly important for developing countries where an extensive and well-functioning rail sector is critical for economic growth.
  • Participates in seminars and generally promotes the signature and ratification of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol
  • Issues publications and position papers relating to the Protocol
  • Acts as a forum for consideration of the practical aspects of the operation of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol by the rail industry

Events & Meetings

  • 15th May 2024, Practical workshop in Stockholm

Speaker Panel

The membership of the RWG encompasses vast range of experience on rail and finance matters. Many of us are happy to speak at rail conferences and the RWG has established a panel of experts for this purpose. Conference organisers may contact them directly.

Inside Track

“Inside Track” is the e-newsletter published by the Rail Working Group for its members and industry colleagues, providing up-to-date news, information and discussion points on the Luxembourg Rail Protocol. Please contact us if you are not already on our mailing list and wish to receive the newsletter.