All railway vehicles registered in Switzerland are recorded in a central vehicle register. The register contains information such as the name of the owner and details on operating licences.
In accordance with Art. 17a of the Railways Act (RailA), the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) maintains a register of all rolling stock immatriculated in Switzerland. This Swiss National Vehicle Register (NVR) records vehicle keepers using Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM). It also allocates a unique 12-digit vehicle number to traction units, multiple units, passenger coaches and goods wagons with a first authorisation (operating licence).
ENOTRAC AG maintains the electronic database for the Swiss NVR on behalf of the FOT.
The NVR assigns every vehicle registered in Switzerland to a responsible vehicle keeper and an Entity in Charge of Maintenance. It contains additional information on operating licences and EU type approvals. The Swiss National Vehicle Register (NVR) is part of the European Centralised Virtual Vehicle Register (ECVVR).
Access to the NVR database
Access to the database as a vehicle keeper
Database access for vehicle owners and observers
Database access for Entities in Charge of Maintenance (ECM)
First registration of vehicles
The Swiss National Vehicle Register can be accessed either via the FOT website (Vehicle Register), or directly at www.rollingstockregister.ch. Information on individual vehicles can be accessed using the 12-digit vehicle number. This information is publicly accessible.
More wide-ranging database searches require special access rights, which are issued by the FOT according to the applicant’s status.
Higher-level authorisations is issued to:
- Vehicle keepers
- Vehicle owners
- Entities in Charge of Maintenance (ECM)
- Swiss authorities, recognised or designated testing bodies, and further organisations
The European Centralised Virtual Vehicle Register (ECVVR) maintained by the European Union Agency for Railways can be accessed at https://vvr.era.europa.eu (login necessary). Vehicle data in a National Vehicle Register linked with the ECVVR can be consulted. Only registered users have access. Registered users are assigned access rights according to their role and in accordance with Section 3.3 of the Annex to Commission Decision 2011/107/EU. Applications to obtain user rights to access the NVR database should be sent by email to the FOT. Users require a valid email address to access the NVR.
Registered vehicle keepers who have a Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM) receive access to the Swiss National Vehicle Register, with the opportunity to amend particular data concerning their own rolling stock. For example, it is the vehicle keeper’s responsibility to allocate vehicles to an owner, or to an Entity in Charge of Maintenance (ECM).
Assigning a VKM
The Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM) is a code consisting of two to five capital letters. The VKM code is issued jointly by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF).
If a vehicle keeper whose headquarters is in Switzerland does not have a VKM code, they can apply for one to the Federal Office of Transport, in writing using a completed and signed application form, or electronically using a scanned PDF file. Before transmitting an application, the future vehicle keeper should check the List of VKMs to see whether the desired code is still available. The FOT then checks the details it receives and forwards them to OTIF.
A vehicle keeper whose headquarters is outside Switzerland will have to contact the responsible authority in that respective country to receive a VKM code.
Foreign vehicle keepers with a VKM
If a vehicle keeper whose headquarters is outside Switzerland has already been issued with a VKM by ERA and OTIF, registration as a keeper in the Swiss NVR requires the following information:
- VKM code
- Complete address of company headquarters
- Surname, first name, telephone number and email address of designated contact person
This application should be sent by email to the Federal Office of Transport.
After registering as a vehicle keeper in the Swiss NVR, the contact person designated in the application will receive information from the FOT by email on how to access the database. Registration in the NVR as a vehicle keeper is free of charge.
Database access for vehicle owners
Limited read-only access can be set up for vehicle owners, so that owners can call up details of their own rolling stock.
An application for this should be sent to the Federal Office of Transport. It must contain the following details:
- Name and complete address
- Surname, first name, telephone number and email address of designated contact person
After registering as a vehicle keeper in the Swiss NVR, the contact person designated in the application will receive information from the FOT by email on how to access the database. Registration in the NVR as a vehicle keeper is free of charge.
Database access for observers
Swiss authorities, recognised or designated testing bodies, and further organisations can receive read-only access for the data in the NVR. Editing data in the NVR database is not possible.
An application for this should be sent to the Federal Office of Transport. It must contain the following details:
- Name and complete address
- Surname, first name, telephone number and email address of designated contact person
After registering as an observer in the Swiss NVR, the contact person designated in the application will receive information from the FOT by email on how to access the database. Registration in the NVR as an observer is free of charge.
Every vehicle in the Swiss National Vehicle Register (NVR) with the status ‘in service’ must be operationally safe. Under Directive (EU) 2016/798 on railway safety, the ECM responsible for maintaining vehicles must be registered in the NVR. The ECM responsible for vehicles must also be certified under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/779. The certificate is also entered in the rollingstock register.
Exceptions to the certification requirement are set out in Art. 5j and Art. 58 of the Railways Ordinance RailO. However, the requirements set out in Article 14(2) and (3) and Annex III of Directive (EU) 2016/798 and Annex II of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/779 apply to all entities in charge of maintenance of vehicles.
ECMs should apply to the database operator, ENOTRAC AG, for user rights, by sending an email to rollingstockregister@enotrac.com. The following information is required:
- Company name and number
- Complete address of company headquarters
- Surname, first name, telephone number and email address of designated contact person
- A valid certificate under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/779 should also be attached.
It is the vehicle keeper’s responsibility to allocate vehicles to an ECM. Registration of an Entity in Charge of Maintenance in the Swiss National Vehicle Register is free of charge.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/779 of 16 May 2019 laying down detailed provisions on a system of certification of entities in charge of maintenance of vehicles pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulation (EU) No 445/2011
A vehicle should first be registered in the National Vehicle Register of the country that issues its first operating licence.
Before an application for authorisation for new rolling stock can be made in Switzerland, the necessary vehicle numbers must be reserved by the FOT. Based on the technical and operating characteristics of the vehicle, the FOT will determine the 12-digit vehicle numbers and note them under the VKM in the Register.
Registration and marking of metre-gauge and special-gauge vehicles
Owners of metre-gauge and special-gauge vehicles are also assigned a Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM), and must register their rolling stock with a vehicle number in the Swiss National Vehicle Register.
The vehicle itself must be marked with at least the sequence number (digits 8 to 11 but not the check digit 12), unless it is being used internationally. In this case, the vehicle marking must be in accordance with the provisions of Appendix P section 2 to Commission Decision 2012/757/EU.
Fees
Reservation of vehicle numbers, and all amendments to data in the Swiss NVR, can be made free of charge.
Fees are incurred only for vehicles in the Swiss National Vehicle Register with the status “in service”; these fees must be borne by the vehicle keeper. Fees are charged in accordance with Art. 25a of the FOT Fees Ordinance (FeeOFOT): CHF 2.50 per vehicle. It is not levied on vehicle keepers with less than 20 registered vehicles (as of July 2023). Fees are determined once a year by the controller, and invoiced to the vehicle keepers. They are based on the vehicle fleet on 30 June of the calculation year.
FAQ Vehicle Register
Who is responsible for the National Vehicle Register?
Can a vehicle keeper register a vehicle without having a Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM)?
What is a vehicle keeper responsible for?
When does a change application need to be completed in the database?
Can the Vehicle Keeper Marking be passed on to another company?
What should I do when selling a vehicle?
I want a different number for my vehicle: what do I need to do?
If the vehicle has been converted, does it need a new vehicle number?
An authority abroad has authorised the vehicle to be placed into service. What does a vehicle keeper now need to do?
I can’t find my password or my username: what do I need to do?
I have logged in as a vehicle keeper, but still can’t call up all the registered vehicles. What should I do?
Why isn’t the public search finding a 12-digit vehicle number that I know?
The National Vehicle Register is maintained by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT). The FOT has commissioned ENOTRAC AG to run the NVR database. ENOTRAC AG is the register’s controller.
No, a vehicle keeper must have a Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM).
Under the Swiss Railways Act, the keeper registered in the NVR is responsible for the safe operation of his/her rolling stock, and for vehicle maintenance. He/she is responsible for the vehicle data under his/her VKM in the NVR database.
If vehicle data are no longer correct, the vehicle keeper must submit a change application without delay. The entry in the NVR is always legally binding.
The VKM can be returned or transferred to another company. An application for this should be submitted to the Federal Office of Transport (FOT), Railway Network Section, 3003 Bern, or by email to info_tuv@FOT.admin.ch.
If the keeper’s responsibility, and thus the Vehicle Keeper Marking, a keeper change application should be carried out in the database. The original keeper hands over the vehicle into the virtual pool. The new keeper takes over the vehicle, using the corresponding application, into his/her fleet. When taking over a vehicle, the new keeper vehicle keeper must determine the Entity in Charge of Maintenance (ECM), and if necessary, the owner. During the period in which the vehicle has not been assigned a keeper, it cannot be called up by a public search, and may not be used.
A rail vehicle is assigned a 12-digit vehicle number when it is first placed into service. It keeps this number during its entire lifespan. The number can only be changed if technical alterations to the vehicle mean the number no longer corresponds to the vehicle. There are no other reasons for changing the vehicle number.
If the technical and operating characteristics of the vehicle no longer corresponds to the vehicle number, the FOT will need to issue a new 12-digit vehicle number for this vehicle. An application for this should be submitted, at the latest when applying for an operating licence, by email to fahrzeugregister@FOT.admin.ch.
Authorisations for placing into service in other countries should be entered in the NVR. The FOT requires this authorisation in one of the official Swiss languages or in English, or the form provided by the European Union Agency for Railways. This form can be provided by the foreign authority upon request.
Send an email to fahrzeugregister@FOT.admin.ch giving your name and Vehicle Keeper Marking, and request a new password. The FOT will assign a new password, which must be changed when you first login to the database.
A vehicle keeper only has access to his/her own vehicles. Further vehicles can be called up via public access to the database, using the 12-digit vehicle numbers.
In the following cases, data on a registered vehicle number cannot be called up via the public access:
- The vehicle is not registered as being “in service”
- The vehicle has been transferred to the pool by its original keeper using a keeper change application, and has not yet been taken over by the new vehicle keeper
In these cases, the vehicle may not be used.
