The European Union is currently working on harmonizing National Vehicle registers in two phases with the goal of establishing a central European Vehicle Register.

• Phase 1: Interoperability – completed
National entities, registers, and databases existed independently but could access each other’s data. These databases were national data silos. Since 2007 all national databases have been connected and made interoperable with a unified standard.

• Phase 2: Central European Vehicle Register – ongoing
In 2021, the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) started a full centralization process to establish one centralized database. Several countries have already migrated, and by summer 2024, it will be mandatory for all countries with local databases to migrate to the European Vehicle Register.

Benefits of the European Vehicle Register
The ongoing centralization of the Vehicle Register removes barriers and opens market access. Elevating the Vehicle Register to a European level is particularly beneficial for cross-border operations. It makes the management of vehicles on a single platform possible, is language-independent, and facilitates “register hopping” for vehicle transfers.

Local operators may not see significant benefits, as their established procedures and shortcuts shift from a well-established, national approach to a new European process.

At GATX Rail Europe, we support the centralization and reduction of barriers, ensuring that organizations with a legitimate interest have access to wagon data.

Useful Links
If you would like to dive in and learn more about the European Vehicle Register, here are the ERA’s documents on EVT and the link to preregister for the European Vehicle Register. If you have any questions regarding the switch to EVRs, please contact your local GATX representative.

• ERA on EVR
• European Vehicle Register