"We Don’t Compromise on Safety or Quality," Says EUROWAGON CEO

RAILTARGET presents an exclusive interview with Adam Butryn, CEO of EUROWAGON, a key player in European railway safety. In this discussion, he sheds light on the recent NYMWAG wagon defects, the proactive measures taken, and how collaboration with ERA and industry stakeholders is shaping a safer future for rail transport.

EUROWAGON is recognized as a leader in the safety of European railway transport. Your company has consistently emphasized compliance with European safety standards. In the case of NYMWAG wagons, you acted proactively and utilized the SAIT system to highlight identified defects. Could you describe this process in more detail?

When it comes to the SAIT, it proved to be an excellent tool provided and managed by ERA that allowed for a swift and efficient exchange of information regarding risks that could potentially affect the safe operation of the EU railway system. We were pleased to see that shortly after publishing our safety alert, several entities reached out for further details. These included ERA itself, as well as VPI, which promptly distributed the alert further among its members.

The publication process within SAIT is straightforward, and ERA deserves full credit for developing a system that significantly enhances the exchange of information related to railway safety. We strongly encourage all who haven’t yet done so, to take advantage of this tool and actively use it to keep track of potential risks, and collaborate in sharing all safety-relevant information across the railway industry.

How did you detect the issues with the NYMWAG wagons?

During routine inspections, our technical staff identified cracks in the paint coating over welds on a specific group of wagons that happened to be manufactured by Nymwag. Initially, it was unclear whether these were just surface-level paint cracks or indicative of compromised weld integrity. Given that the wagons were still under warranty, we immediately launched a thorough investigation in collaboration with Nymwag. As multiple wagons from the same production batch were affected, we suspected the issue could be a serial defect.

Once the affected wagons were withdrawn from service, Nymwag transported them to their facility for further examination. Magnetic testing then confirmed that some welds had indeed been compromised. In response, together with Nymwag, we decided to extend the inspection to the entire production batch. We promptly arranged for the affected wagons to be shunted off and transported to the manufacturer for necessary testing and repairs.

Upon confirming that this was a serial defect, we determined that all users of potentially affected Nymwag wagons should be informed of the safety hazards. Since we could only notify our direct customers and Nymwag could only reach theirs, there was no certainty that all relevant stakeholders, including railway undertakings, would be adequately informed. To ensure comprehensive awareness, we decided to issue a general safety alert, allowing all wagon users to take appropriate precautions.

How do you assess cooperation with European railway authorities, ERA, and other wagon owners?

ERA was in fact the first authority to reach out for more information after we issued the safety alert in July 2024. They asked us for more details about the case, presumably to evaluate the gravity of the situation. Given that we’re based in Poland, they eventually forwarded the case to the Polish NSA, which has then taken over the communications with us. In December 2024, the Polish NSA began monitoring the situation and obligated us to submit monthly reports on the repair progress. The NSA is now closely overseeing further developments while allowing us to proceed in accordance with our expertise and experience. It is encouraging to see national and supra-national railway authorities collaborating in a supportive manner, offering their own expertise and advice while recognising and trusting the expertise of market entities like Eurowagon.

Regarding other affected wagon owners, we haven’t had the opportunity to collaborate with them on this matter.

What is the current situation? Is there ongoing collaboration with NYMWAG’s manufacturer regarding the repair of the damaged wagons? How has this situation impacted your operational activities?

Nymwag recognised and acknowledged the issue from the very beginning and committed to repairing all affected wagons. They have developed and implemented repair and inspection procedures, verified by an independent NoBo to ensure their proper execution. They also recently informed us that they had conducted an internal audit that identified the root cause of the defects. This should lead to corrective measures to mitigate similar risks in the future, which is—understandably—great news. The repairs are progressing smoothly, and we expect to complete this process soon.

While we have made every effort to minimize the impact of wagon downtime for our customers, some disruption was unavoidable. However, we don’t compromise on safety or quality and trust that our customers appreciate this commitment despite the complications.

Have you implemented any specific changes as a result of this situation? Do you plan to tighten internal control mechanisms or propose amendments to European regulations?

This case reaffirmed the importance of proactive safety management and industry-wide collaboration. Internally, we have reviewed and reinforced our inspection and monitoring procedures to detect potential defects even earlier. While our existing control mechanisms were effective enough to identify and address the issue at a relatively early stage, we know that there’s always room for improvement.

At the industry level, we were pleased to see how diligently and efficiently all the involved parties, specifically the manufacturer, responded to the issue. This demonstrates that the railway sector doesn’t compete on safety but rather works together to minimize risks. Moving forward, we will continue to share insights from this case with the Polish NSA and other authorities. While we don’t currently see an immediate need for regulatory changes, we will support any reasonable initiatives to enhance overall railway safety.