Wagon types

39 types across 12 UIC categories. The capital letter in a code is the category; the lower-case letters qualify it — Sgns is a bogie flat (S) with container fittings (g), above-norm payload (n), cleared for 100 km/h (s).

Showing 39 of 39 types.

Sgns
Flat, special, bogies
Intermodal

The workhorse of European intermodal. A 60-foot deck takes three 20ft, one 40ft or one 45ft unit. If you picture a European container train, you are picturing these.

Payload
69 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.25 t
Length
19.74 m
20ft containers40ft containers45ft containers
Sgss
Flat, special, bogies
Intermodal

Sgns sibling with a differing stanchion and fitting arrangement. Interchangeable for most traffic.

Payload
69 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
19.9 m
20ft containers40ft containersswap bodies
Sdggmrs
Flat, special, bogies
Intermodal

Articulated twin-pocket wagon for accompanied and unaccompanied road trailers. The pocket drops the trailer wheels far below the frame, which is the only reason a 4 m corner-height P400 trailer clears European tunnels.

Payload
101 t
Axles
6
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
34.2 m
semi-trailerscraneable trailersswap bodies
Sffggmrrss
Flat, special, bogies
Intermodal

Longer articulated pocket unit. Fewer couplings per metre of train means less slack action and a better payload-to-tare ratio on long runs.

Payload
116 t
Axles
8
Axle load
20 t
Length
45 m
semi-trailersswap bodiescontainers
Slps
Flat, special, bogies

Stanchioned flat for forestry traffic. Stanchions fold to allow side loading by grapple.

Payload
68 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
19.9 m
round timbersawn timberpoles
Shimmns
Flat, special, bogies

Sliding-hood wagon with a coil trough. The hood keeps weather off the coil; the trough stops it rolling.

Payload
64 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
14.2 m
steel coilhot-rolled coil
Smmps
Flat, special, bogies

Open coil carrier. Short and heavy — the load limit is reached long before the deck runs out.

Payload
67 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
12 m
steel coilheavy plate
Rgs
Flat, ordinary, bogies
Intermodal

Older container flat. A higher deck than an Sgns, which matters on a restricted loading gauge.

Payload
59 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
19.9 m
containersswap bodiesgeneral cargo
Rns
Flat, ordinary, bogies

General-purpose bogie flat with folding stanchions.

Payload
56 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
19.9 m
steel productsmachinerypalletised goods
Res
Flat, ordinary, bogies

Stanchion flat for loads that need lateral restraint but no cover.

Payload
55.5 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
19.9 m
steeltimberpipes
Rils
Flat, ordinary, bogies

Tarpaulin hood on a flat deck: weather protection with the full-length side access a van cannot give.

Payload
53 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
19.9 m
steelpaper reelspalletised goods
Rmms
Flat, ordinary, bogies

Short, strong deck for dense loads where the mass limit arrives first.

Payload
58 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
12.5 m
heavy machinerytransformerssteel
Roos
Flat, ordinary, bogies

Extended deck for loads too long for a standard flat.

Payload
54 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
24 m
long steel sectionsrailspipes
Eanos
Open high-sided

The standard European open wagon. Doors at both ends and drop sides give loading flexibility that a hopper does not have.

Payload
68 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
15.74 m
coalscrap metalore
Eaos
Open high-sided

Predecessor to the Eanos with a lower payload. Still widespread in bulk pools.

Payload
57.5 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20.13 t
Length
14.04 m
coalscrapaggregates
Es
Open high-sided

Two-axle open wagon for short hauls and wagonload traffic where a full bogie wagon would run half empty.

Payload
28 t
Axles
2
Axle load
20 t
Length
10 m
scrapaggregatesgeneral bulk
Falns
Hopper, self-discharging

Gravity discharge through bottom doors. A rake can be emptied over a pit without uncoupling, which is what makes heavy-haul bulk economics work.

Payload
66 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
14.04 m
coaliron oreaggregates
Fals
Hopper, self-discharging

Shorter hopper for dense minerals where volume is never the limit.

Payload
62 t
Axles
4
Axle load
21.25 t
Length
12.54 m
coaloregravel
Fccpps
Hopper, self-discharging

Controlled-discharge hopper that places ballast to either side of the track for engineering trains.

Payload
58 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
14 m
track ballastaggregates
Tanoos
Opening roof

Hopper discharge with a roof over it: bulk that must stay dry, loaded from above and dropped from below.

Payload
64 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
17.24 m
grainfertiliserwood pellets
Habbiins
Covered, sliding wall

Whole side opens, so a forklift reaches every pallet without double handling. The reason sliding-wall vans displaced traditional vans for palletised traffic.

Payload
53 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
24.13 m
palletised goodspaper reelspackaged consumer goods
Habis
Covered, sliding wall

Volume-optimised van for cargo that runs out of space before it runs out of weight.

Payload
55 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
22.5 m
palletised goodslight manufactures
Hbbillns
Covered, sliding wall

Two-axle sliding-wall van sized for single-wagon consignments.

Payload
28 t
Axles
2
Axle load
21.5 t
Length
15.5 m
palletised goodspaper
Gbs
Covered van

The classic sliding-door box van. Largely superseded by sliding-wall types for palletised freight.

Payload
28 t
Axles
2
Axle load
20.5 t
Length
14.02 m
bagged goodsgeneral merchandise
Ibbhs
Temperature controlled

Insulated body without its own refrigeration. Most modern temperature-controlled rail traffic runs in reefer containers on a flat instead.

Payload
25 t
Axles
2
Axle load
20.5 t
Length
14.5 m
chilled foodstuffsbeveragestemperature-sensitive goods
Ias
Temperature controlled

Mechanically refrigerated van. A shrinking fleet: reefer containers on Sgns wagons do the same job with road-rail flexibility.

Payload
40 t
Axles
4
Axle load
17.5 t
Length
21 m
frozen goodsfresh producemeat
Ks
Flat, ordinary, 2 axles

Two-axle stanchion flat for wagonload traffic.

Payload
28 t
Axles
2
Axle load
20 t
Length
13.86 m
steeltimbermachinery
Kbs
Flat, ordinary, 2 axles

Ks with fixed stanchions for loads needing permanent lateral restraint.

Payload
27.5 t
Axles
2
Axle load
20 t
Length
13.86 m
timberpipessteel sections
Lgs
Flat, special, independent wheels
Intermodal

Two-axle container flat. Takes a single 20ft unit; used where traffic does not justify a bogie wagon.

Payload
27 t
Axles
2
Axle load
20 t
Length
13.86 m
20ft containersswap bodies
Laaps
Flat, special, independent wheels

Double-deck car carrier, loaded end to end by driving the vehicles on. Volume-limited: it hits its deck space long before its mass limit.

Payload
25 t
Axles
4
Axle load
12.75 t
Length
27 m
passenger carslight vans
Laeks
Flat, special, independent wheels

Articulated double-deck car carrier with an adjustable upper deck for mixed vehicle heights.

Payload
26 t
Axles
4
Axle load
12.75 t
Length
26 m
passenger cars
Tds
Opening roof

Sliding roof for grab or chute loading from above, side doors for discharge.

Payload
26 t
Axles
2
Axle load
20 t
Length
12.5 m
cementfertiliserbagged bulk
Taems
Opening roof

Bogie opening-roof wagon for weather-sensitive bulk.

Payload
65 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22.5 t
Length
16.5 m
grainfertiliserminerals
Uacs
Special purpose

Pressure-discharge silo for dry powders. Loaded through top hatches, blown out through a pipe — the powder never sees the air.

Payload
58 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
13.5 m
cementlimefly ash
Uagps
Special purpose

Larger-volume silo for light granulates, where volume binds before mass.

Payload
56 t
Axles
4
Axle load
20 t
Length
15 m
plastic granulatesugarflour
Uaai
Special purpose

Depressed-centre heavy-lift wagon. The well lowers the load to clear structures a normal deck never could — abnormal-load movements are planned path by path.

Payload
180 t
Axles
12
Axle load
20 t
Length
28 m
transformersturbinesreactor components
Zacns
Tank

The standard European fuel tank wagon. RID rules govern what may travel in it and how the train is marshalled.

Payload
65 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22 t
Length
15.7 m
petroldieselfuel oil
Zaes
Tank

Chemical tank with a lining matched to the product. Tank wagons are rarely interchangeable between products without cleaning.

Payload
64 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22 t
Length
16 m
chemicalsacidsindustrial liquids
Zans
Tank

Pressure tank for liquefied gas. Dangerous-goods traffic with its own marshalling and placarding rules.

Payload
66 t
Axles
4
Axle load
22 t
Length
15.5 m
liquefied gasespressurised products