Introduction of the ILU-CODE for swap bodies and semi-trailers 22/11/10

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has adopted with a substantial majority the reworked standard EN13044 for the marking of intermodal loading units (ILUs). This will bring a fundamental modernisation in the codification of swap-bodies and semi-trailers used in continental Combined Transport.

The first chapter of the standard contains the new owner codification of loading units known as the ILU‐Code, which is compatible with the worldwide known BIC‐Code. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the new codification plates for the marking of swap‐bodies and semi‐trailers for railway operations.

CEN launched a working group (TC119) three years ago at the initiative of UIRR Operators and UIC railway undertakings (the Technical Committee of INTERUNIT) to rework the nine‐year‐old standard making it functional. Under the guise of the standards organisation every affected stakeholder of intermodal transport was involved: CT Operators and railway undertakings, road hauliers, short sea shipping operators and inland navigation companies, the manufacturers of vehicles and loading units, as well as the Bureau International des Containers of Paris, which issues the so called “BIC‐Code” for containers used in worldwide traffic.

The present document summarises important facts and provides a background to explain the standard EN 13044.