Internationales Eisenbahntransportkomitee (cit)

What Internationales Eisenbahntransportkomitee (cit) does

The International Rail Transport Committee (CIT) is a Switzerland-based, non-profit membership association established in 1902 and headquartered in Bern. It serves over 130 railway undertakings and shipping companies that operate international passenger and/or freight transport services, functioning as the central body for harmonizing international rail transport law across multiple jurisdictions, including COTIF, CIM, SMPS/SMGS, and EU transport law frameworks. CIT's core offering is a portfolio of standardized legal and contractual documents — including the GLV-CIM Consignment Note Manual, the GTM-CIT Freight Traffic Manual, the AIM Agreement on carrier compensation, and a suite of General Terms and Conditions (GTC-CIM, GTC Joint Contract, GTC Sub-contract, GTC Traction, GTC Hire, GTC Provision of Services) — together with multimodal products (rail-sea, rail-road) and infrastructure-use agreements (E-GTC-I, E-SCU-I) co-developed with RailNetEurope. Underlying technology consists of a membership-secured web platform (cit-rail.org) for document distribution, PDF-based consignment note and claims forms, and working-paper repositories used by CIM and CUI committees.

CIT's business model rests on recurring membership fees paid by railway undertakings and shipping companies, supplemented by sales of documentation, manuals, and forms — some publicly accessible and others restricted behind member login. Distribution is community-led: the General Secretariat engages members through a calendar of webinars, working group meetings (CIM, CUI, CIV), conferences (Passenger Claims, Freight and Wagon Law), an annual General Assembly, the CIT News newsletter, and circular letters. Its only named executive is Dr. Erik Evtimov (Secretary General), and the organization operates with 11–50 staff from a single Bern office, serving a global footprint of enterprise members.

Name

Internationales Eisenbahntransportkomitee (cit)

Legal name

International Rail Transport Committee (CIT)

Website

https://cit-rail.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1902

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Founded 1902, CIT is a Switzerland-based nonprofit association of 130+ railway undertakings and shipping companies that develops standardized legal documents, contractual frameworks, and manuals governing international rail passenger and freight transport.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rail Transport Legal Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Rail Transportation (4882)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Transport Safety & Infrastructure Standards Cooperation (BPADANAK)

Keywords

• International rail transport law
• Railway contractual frameworks
• Freight traffic documentation
• Rail passenger transport
• Railway infrastructure agreements

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: CIT generates revenue through membership fees paid by railway undertakings and shipping companies. Membership fees are mentioned in the privacy policy as being used for payment processing.
2. Documentation and Publications: CIT sells documentation, manuals, forms, and contractual documents to members and potentially non-members. Documents are available in multiple languages (EN, FR, DE, RU) with some freely accessible and others requiring login.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The International Rail Transport Committee (CIT) develops and maintains standardized legal documents, contractual frameworks, manuals, forms, and checklists governing international rail passenger and freight transport. Its products cover consignment note procedures, general terms and conditions for carriage, infrastructure use contracts, multimodal (rail-sea, rail-road) agreements, and carrier compensation settlement, used by 130+ railway undertakings and shipping companies worldwide.

Product overview

The International Rail Transport Committee (CIT) is an association of railway undertakings providing legal expertise for international rail transport. CIT does not offer a unified software product but rather produces a comprehensive portfolio of legal documents, standardized contractual frameworks, manuals, forms, and checklists for international rail freight and passenger traffic. The core products include the GLV-CIM (CIM Consignment Note Manual) and GTM-CIT (Freight Traffic Manual) which regulate freight documentation and processes; the AIM Agreement governing carrier compensation settlements; various General Terms and Conditions (GTC-CIM, GTC Joint Contract, GTC Sub-contract, GTC Traction, GTC Hire, GTC Provision of Services) for different freight contracting scenarios; standardized forms for consignment notes and AIM procedures; multimodal products for rail-road, rail-sea, and rail-inland waterway transport including GTC Rail-Sea Traffic and boilerplate contracts; and infrastructure use products (E-GTC-I, E-SCU-I) developed with RailNetEurope. Additional products include information notes, checklists, and the Comparative-Matrix Air-Rail analysis for passenger multimodality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CIM Consignment Note Manual (GLV-CIM)

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• RailNetEurope (RNE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIT cooperates with RailNetEurope to develop harmonized documents and contracts for the use of railway infrastructure. Together they produced the European Standard Contract of use of railway infrastructure (E-SCU-I) and European General Terms and Conditions (E-GTC-I), as well as implementation guides for these standardized infrastructure use agreements.
• UIC (International Union of Railways)coreTechnology or IntegrationUIC issues codes for undertakings in accordance with UIC/OSJD leaflet 920-1, in cooperation with OSJD. CIT provides access to these code lists which are essential for identifying railway companies in international transport documentation and communications.
• OSJD (Organisation for Cooperation of Railways)coreTechnology or IntegrationOSJD (OSJD) jointly with UIC issues codes for undertakings under UIC/OSJD leaflet 920-1. These codes are essential for identifying railway companies in CIM/SMGS documentation used across the international rail network.
• OTIF (Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIT works with OTIF on matters related to COTIF (Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail) and the Uniform Rules CUI (concerning the contract of use of infrastructure). CIT develops documentation interpreting and implementing OTIF conventions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Bureau International des Containers (BIC): International container industry body that maintains codes and standards used in intermodal freight documentation. BIC overlaps with CIT's domain around container/rail freight traceability and multimodal transport codes.

Direct peers

• International Union of Railways (UIC): Paris-headquartered international rail association that, like CIT, serves railway undertakings globally with technical standards, codes, and harmonization frameworks. Both organizations cooperate on UIC/OSJD leaflet 920-1 for undertaking codes and operate as neutral, membership-based bodies shaping international rail operations.
• RailNetEurope (RNE): Vienna-based association of European infrastructure managers that co-develops standardized infrastructure-use contracts with CIT (e.g., E-GTC-I and E-SCU-I). Both organizations share a community-led, member-funded model focused on cross-border rail interoperability.
• Organisation for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD): OSJD coordinates railway cooperation across Eastern Europe and Asia (notably the SMGS framework). CIT and OSJD jointly govern the CIM/SMGS interface for paperless cross-border freight, making OSJD a peer in rail transport law harmonization.
• Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF): Bern-based intergovernmental body that administers the COTIF convention and the uniform rules (CIM, CUI, CIV) that CIT's contractual documents implement. CIT is a core operational partner of OTIF, translating OTIF's conventions into commercial and practical documents for railway undertakings.

Broad incumbents

• International Air Transport Association (IATA): Global trade association for airlines that produces standardized contracts, tariff frameworks, and ticketing documentation. IATA is a structurally analogous association in another transport mode, with CIT even producing comparative analysis (e.g., Comparative-Matrix Air-Rail) referencing IATA's passenger frameworks.
• Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER): Brussels-based lobbying and policy association representing European rail operators and infrastructure managers. While broader in scope (advocacy rather than legal standardization), CER overlaps with CIT's membership base and works on complementary regulatory and policy issues.
• European Union Agency for Railways (ERA): EU regulatory agency overseeing rail interoperability, safety, and ERTMS implementation. ERA operates at a regulatory level that complements CIT's contract-level work, and both target harmonization across European rail systems.

Emerging players

• European Shippers' Council (ESC): Brussels-based body representing freight shippers across modes, including rail. ESC engages in EU policy and freight documentation issues that intersect with CIT's standardization work for international rail freight.
• International Road Transport Union (IRU): Global road transport association that, like CIT, produces standardized contracts and documentation for cross-border freight. CIT's rail-road checklists (e.g., Check-list Rail-Road) overlap with IRU's scope, making it a relevant peer in multimodal standardization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cit-rail

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Internationales Eisenbahntransportkomitee (cit)