Rail carriage

We provide legal advice concerning railway transportation 

Railway transportation has long been an energy efficient and effective means of transporting goods, and demand for railway transportation continues to increase all across Europe, not least due to the ever more important and expanding environmental concerns. International regulation of cross-border railway transportation is, however, not without complexity, but can be viewed as full of pitfalls, as well as inaccessible and rigid; this being largely dependent on the age of the regulatory framework as well as the background regarding political compromise. This has also greatly influenced regulation concerning the Swedish national railway transportation which, as a consequence, is also characterised by complexity. 

The importance of ascertaining that protection is in place for the value of the transported goods

The carrying agent’s responsibility for damaged goods does not always provide full protection for companies transporting high value goods. It is important to be aware of the carrying agent’s right to limit its liability for damaged goods and the comparatively short time within which a claim must be submitted in order to preserve the right to claim compensation (e.g. the Railway Traffic Act). Knowledge and experience are needed by both the carrying agent as well as anyone purchasing transport services in order to safeguard rights when goods are transported. 

Both small and large businesses need to have internal procedures in place to safeguard their rights and protect the company’s goods during transportation. 

Questions regarding railway transportation which you should consider: 

• Does the company have sufficient insurance cover for goods to be transported? 
• Are there established internal procedures in place to urgently submit claims due to any delay in delivering the goods, or where the goods have been damaged or lost during transportation? 

This is how we can assist your business with any issues concerning railway transportation

Our lawyers are experts in railway traffic law and international railway transportation (the COTIF-CIM Convention) and the application thereof. 

We advise both carrying agents and those purchasing transportation, as well as third parties with an interest in the transportation chain to safeguard their rights.

We have considerable experience in providing legal advice regarding railway transportation and can thus simplify and clarify the decision-making basis in relation to railway transportation, which is needed by the market players. 

Our advice covers:

• Contract and public law issues concerning railway transportation such as negotiation and modelling of framework agreements for transportation
• Assistance in permit matters
• The issues which can arise in conjunction with the performance of railway transportation, e.g. incidents, derailments, delays or damage to goods. 
• We are one of only a few law firms which have experience in litigating disputes concerning international railway transportation in the Swedish Supreme Court.  

Advice concerning railway transportation is often closely interlinked with additional strategic advice, where we work closely with our other specialists in insurance law, EU and competition law, commercial agreements, employment law and international trade law. 

We are the largest full-service provider in Sweden in the areas of business law and transportation law. Our firm can provide in-depth knowledge and bespoke advice in several practice areas. We provide assistance to companies across all kinds of industries. 

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