Luxembourg Rail Protocol
The Luxembourg (Rail) Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Railway Rolling Stock entered into force on 8 March 2024.
The Luxembourg Protocol creates a new global legal system for the recognition and prioritisation of three types of security interests held by creditors in railway rolling stock[1]. The Protocol secures: a lessor under a lease; a creditor under a secured loan; and a vendor’s rights under a conditional sale (where title is retained).
These security interests will be registered in a new international registry of interests in rolling stock, which will be searchable by the public 24/7.
With environmental and sustainability concerns at the forefront of global policy, the need for rail transport is only increasing. This is where the Luxembourg Protocol fits in perfectly. It aims to facilitate more and cheaper finance from the private sector in rolling stock procurement, allowing governments to focus their resources on infrastructure.
The success of the Aircraft Protocol, the first of the four protocols to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, showed that the system of international securities introduced by the said Convention could additionally contribute to significant cost savings in the procurement of railway rolling stock equipment following the entry into force of the Luxembourg Protocol.
For information, the Registrar and the operation of the international registry will be overseen by the Supervisory Authority, an international organisation having international legal personality as provided by Article 27(1) of the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. The Supervisory Authority is based in Berne, Switzerland, and the OTIF Secretariat acts as the Secretariat of the Supervisory Authority.
For further information on the Luxembourg Protocol, please do not hesitate to contact us at info.supervisoryauthority@otif.org
[1] It should be noted that all vehicles running on tracks or above, on, or under a permanent guideway, from high-speed to light rail trains, from freight locomotives and wagons to trams and subways, and from people movers at airports to gantries and cranes running on rails at ports are covered by the Luxembourg Protocol.
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