Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail

Mission

OTIF is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to international rail transport It has been active since 1893 and is the oldest international organisation in the sector. It now has 50 Member States, including one Associate Member. The Organisation has its headquarters in Berne, Switzerland, and has legal personality under international law and in the national laws of its Member States.

OTIF develops unified railway law to connect Europe, Asia and Africa. It uses simple and effective tools to promote, improve and facilitate international carriage by rail. OTIF provides legal and technical interoperability for international carriage by rail. It works in close partnership with the European Union, the European Union Agency for Railways, the International Rail Transport Committee (CIT), the International Union of Railways (UIC), the Organization for Co-operation between Railways (OSJD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

Its basic legal instrument is the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF 1999) and its seven Appendices. In 2011, the European Union (EU) acceded to COTIF 1999.

OTIF has three official languages: French, German and English (since 2002). The Organisation is administered by a Secretariat and has three governing bodies and four operational bodies that develop international railway law.

OTIF was originally an administrative union set up in 1893 by the International Convention concerning the Carriage of Goods by Rail of 1890. Until the first Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail appeared in 1980 (COTIF 1980) and entered into force in 1985, OTIF was known as OCTI, the Central Office for International Carriage by Rail.