Rules of Railroads of the USSR ROR

a normative act regulating public railroad transport. The current ROR were approved by the Council of Ministers of the USSR on Apr. 6, 1964 (Collected Decrees of the USSR, 1964, no. 5, art. 36).

The ROR define the duties, rights, and responsibilities of the railroads and of enterprises, organizations, institutions, and citizens using railroad transport. The ROR also regulate the planning and organizing of transport. They set forth the terms under which transport is carried out and govern the relations between railroad transport and other types of transport. In particular, the ROR define the functions and makeup of shipping facilities and passenger service facilities.

The ROR outline the procedure for drawing up and carrying out plans for railroad shipping; the conditions under which freight is accepted, loaded, transported, and delivered; and the authority of the Ministry of Railroad Transport of the USSR, of enterprises of the ministry, and of other agencies involved in setting tariffs and fees for transport and related operations. The ROR also state norms for the spur tracks to be constructed, repaired, and used; the procedures for officially registering, organizing, and setting the terms of carriage; the procedures for the transshipment of freight in integrated transport; the grounds and extent of financial liability of railroads, shippers, consignees, and passengers for breach of duties established by law or contract of carriage; the procedure for documenting circumstances, especially in the drawing up of a carrier’s reply to claim, that could serve as grounds for financial liability; and the procedure for submitting and hearing claims and suits relating to transport.

The ROR provide the basis for other, supplementary regulations, which are adopted in accordance with established procedure. Examples are the Regulations for Freight Transport and the Regulations for the Transport of Passengers and Baggage.