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The new Expert Group on waste carriage by rail and specific transport
The new Expert Group on waste carriage by rail and specific transport
The transport of waste represents a new key element in the rail freight sector, and the organisation by the CIT GS of an ad hoc group dedicated to this theme has assumed increasing importance during the meetings held since February 2023.
In this context, the meeting of the Expert Group on Waste Shipments on 5 March 2025 (see article in CIT News 1/2025) provided an opportunity to review the issues at stake and the follow-up to the implementation of the new Waste Shipments Regulation (WSR) published in April 2024, which will apply in May 2026. The current transition phase for the implementation of the new rules on waste shipments for rail carriers is crucial.
On 28 March 2025, the CIT GS therefore published its general response to the European Commission’s Public Consultation on the draft Implementing Act of the WSR, following consultation with all Expert Group members.
The possibility of an extensive Expert Group was favourably discussed at the CIT Executive Committee session in April 2025. The reshaped Expert Group is now called the “Expert Group on waste carriage by rail and specific transport” in accordance with the decision of the CIM Committee of 27 March 2025 and of the CIM Working Group on 23-24 June. The existing ad hoc group “on waste shipments” was formalised and has been extended to cover specific types of transport, such as nuclear shipments, special transports and military shipments.
The priorities of the Expert Group for the promotion of special transport are as follows:
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Digitisation of procedures and implementation of the new Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 on shipments of waste, from now until 21 May 2026, and the creation and management of transport documents during the 2024-2026 transition period for rail carriers, also within the framework of the eFTI Regulation (economic operators can exchange information, period: 2024-2029) and the new TSI Telematics rules (data exchange between RUs and IMs in particular, implementation period 2027-2029).
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Involving terminals dealing with the exchange of waste/ specific transport in discussions on the exchange of documents, the application of rules, future rules and liability issues.
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Participation in specific Basel Convention intersessional group, notably on electronic approaches for the communication of documents.
The last meeting of the expert group took place on 2 July 2025, with 21 experts in attendance. The meeting included a question-and-answer session with the European Commission about the details of the new waste shipment regulations. With electronic document exchange set to become mandatory in May 2026, the discussions focused on the Digital Waste Shipment System (DIWASS). The Commission is set to publish an Implementing Act to specify the details of this central system, which will be interoperable with existing IT systems and platforms, also within the eFTI environment.
