Reducing noise levels in rail freight transport

An Act has been passed stating that only quiet wagons may be used for freight transport on main routes across the entire EU by the end of 2024. For many countries, Austria included, this amounts to a blanket ban on “loud” freight wagons that have conventional brake pads and applies to all transport services – which also affects transit traffic. This Act already came into force in Switzerland in January 2020; it will also be implemented in Germany as of December 2020. From December, the Rail Cargo Group will therefore only be providing our customers with quiet freight wagons for transport into and through Germany.

What does this mean for our customers?

This means that only wagons that have the appropriate braking equipment and vehicles with the correct identification markers will be allowed to travel into and through Germany from December. Shipments that have already been submitted for transportation can be accepted at the border to Austria up to and including 26/11/2020. Any shipments that arrive after this date will be held up at the border. In such cases, the authorised parties will be requested to provide instructions on how to proceed.

Quiet tracks in rail freight transport

A green future is a rail future. To achieve this, we are continually optimising our product and service portfolio and investing in the latest modern equipment. Reducing noise emissions is something we at the Rail Cargo Group are actively involved in. Therefore, we have been equipping all the freight wagons we have in service with quiet brake pads. Work to retrofit wagons with quiet braking systems began back in March 2018. As things stand, 80 percent have already been equipped and work should be complete by the end of 2021.

Please feel free to contact your customer service advisor for more information.

You can read more about our initiative at: