ECM stands for the "Entity in Charge of Maintenance",
the organization/entity having the full responsibility for any the
maintenance issue of freight wagons. According to the Rules for
Certification and Auditing of Entities in Charge of Maintenance
(the "Regulation")[1] of the
Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail
("OTIF")[2], which came into force on June 1,
2013, the ECMs must be evaluated and certified by an independent
institution. Every freight wagon used by an international entity
must be maintained by a particular ECM.
Gathering the Regulations Together
OTIF was established on May 1, 1985 under the Convention on
International Carriage by Rail ("COTIF"), which
was concluded in 1980. The main purpose of the OTIF is to harmonize
and coordinate the regulations, providing for the freight and
passenger transportation through railroads, between the States and
the groups of States, and to formulate uniform legal instruments,
principles
