European railway carriage markings

August 11, 2009 3:55 PM

What do the markings on European railway carriages (example here) mean?

I'm guessing that the grid of 1-2 letter codes is probably a list of countries on whose national railways the carriage is certified/approved to operate, and the voltages are those with which it needs to be supplied from the locomotive. But what is the 200? The 'RIC'? The anchor? The loudspeaker symbol? And who coordinates the standard to which these markings are written? (I've only seen them in continental Europe, but also on Russian and Belarussian carriages in Berlin; is it an EU thing?)

posted by acb to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

The main large section of squares are Euro country codes - I would assume that these carriages are rated / licensed for operation in those countries.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:09 PM on August 11

(wc) = "there is a toilet in this one"
posted by Meatbomb at 4:10 PM on August 11

Well, I can't find anything after five minutes of browsing Swedish sites, but I reccon you could poke at the Wikipedia Trainspotting article and move on from there. For example the Open Directory of Rail-fanning and Train-spotting or The Railway Centre.
posted by monocultured at 4:32 PM on August 11

It's an RIC table / raster. As far as I can tell, they want you to pay to get a copy of the regulations ("Agreement governing the exchange and use of coaches in international traffic"). And it is basically non-existent on the web. Or in German.

I did find a newsgroup post from 1993 that explains some of it.

200 = maximum speed in km/h
Anchor = can go on a ferry
)p( = pressure-proof / airtight for use in tunnels
posted by smackfu at 5:39 PM on August 11

According to L'Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer (UIC) these 1-2 letter codes are indeed country codes.

RIC stands for Regolamento Internationale delle Carrozze, an agreement governing the exchange and use of coaches in international traffic.

The RIC lays down the technical requirements that a coach must meet in order to be used in international services. Coaches that fulfil these requirements are given the symbol RIC and can be used on all RIC railways without needing special permission.

In the RIC table painted on the coach the permitted top speed, voltages and maximum current through the collector is state. An anchor symbol indicates that the coach is suitable for use on ferries. If country codes are displayed in the table, the coach is only cleared for use in those countries.

(The abbreviation RIV is used for freight wagons, named after the Regolamento Internazionale dei Veicoli, now regulated by the General Contract of Use for Freight Wagons).
posted by lioness at 6:11 PM on August 11

To answer your last question:

UIC: the worldwide international organisation of the railway sector
including 199 members across all 5 continents

82 active members
(including the railways from Europe, Russia, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, and companies operating worldwide such as Veolia Transport)
82 associate members (including railways from Asia, Africa, America and Australia)
35 affiliate members (related or ancillary rail transport businesses or services)


I could try calling their Brussels office tomorrow to ask about the loudspeaker symbol, if you want.
posted by lioness at 6:20 PM on August 11

Follow up from the nice people of UIC about the loudspeaker symbol:

"This sign means that the RIC coach is equipped with a public-address system according to UIC leaflet 440.

The sign is different depending if the vehicles are provided with a public-address system:

- with a socket to plug in a mobile transmitter unit for broadcasting announcements and music
OR
- with a socket to plug in a mobile transmitter unit for broadcasting announcements and music, but
- without a transmitter unit
OR
- without a socket to plug in a mobile transmitter unit for broadcasting
announcements and music
OR
- without a socket to plug in a mobile transmitter unit for broadcasting announcements and music, and
- without a transmitter unit

So, there are 4 different signs."
posted by lioness at 8:01 AM on August 13