Rolling Stock
Eight rolling stock standards have been published during 2024. This included one point release that continues the trend of updating documents to remain relevant and rapidly respond to industry requirements. Ten 12- and 60-month reviews were undertaken during the year. Four have been deferred pending the outcome of other industry workstreams from within RSSB. Six technical notes were published, continuing the approach of reacting effectively to emerging issues affecting the industry ahead of possible new or revised standards.
There are 21 active rolling stock standards projects at various stages of progress, with several projects working across different subsystems. 11 projects are on hold due to resourcing or industry priorities.
The Rolling Stock Standards Committee (RST SC) strategic plan has been developed further to more clearly identify emerging developments and highlight the pipeline of standards projects. The plant standards committee strategy has also been incorporated into the plan.
RIS-2761-RST issue two Rail Industry Standard for Driving Cabs was published in June. It sets out requirements, rationale, and guidance for the design, layout, and operational equipment in driving cabs of rail vehicles. The requirements are supplementary to those in the Locomotive and Passenger National Technical Specification Notice (LOC&PAS NTSN) and national technical rules (NTRs) in GMRT2161 issue 2.1 Requirements for Driving Cabs of Railway Vehicles.
The RIS sets out new requirements for side glazing in driving cabs to support drivers aligning with station features, thermal comfort including air conditioning, and the illumination of cab footsteps to reduce the risk of injury when accessing or egressing the driving cab during hours of darkness. Guidance on good practice in human factors for driving cab design has been added as an appendix. The adoption of this human-centric design approach is expected to bring savings of ca.£800,000 over the next five years.
The publication of GMRT2141 issue five Permissible Track Forces and Resistance to Derailment and Roll-Over of Railway Vehicles in June set out requirements for railway vehicles regarding permissible track forces, derailment resistance, and resistance to roll-over due to overspeed. The main requirements for permissible track forces for mainline railway vehicles are given in the Locomotives and Passenger Vehicles National Technical Specification Notice (LOC&PAS NTSN), the Freight Wagons NTSN (WAG NTSN) and the referenced BS EN 14363. The GB mainline has specific cases in the LOC&PAS NTSN and the WAG NTSN.
Issue five builds on requirements previously introduced and has further clarification and guidance about their application. The additional clarification makes demonstration of compliance more straightforward for projects. This reduces costs and potentially shortens timescales for the introduction of new or modified wagons. The changes in GMRT2141 issue five, together with those in GMGN2641 issue two, are estimated to benefit the industry by £3M over five years from improved efficiency of a range of new and modified vehicle projects.
The second issue of a paper on hydrogen policy and standards has been published. This contains further detail on the applicability of legislation and regulation. The workstream developed a system-based approach and the development of bow tie models to support the introduction of hydrogen on the network.
Several technical notes have been published to address key areas for industry, for example:
TN2310 issue one Compliance with noise and vibration legislation sets out the relevant railway-specific legislation on noise and vibration and replaces an existing guidance note. This enable future updates to the content to be undertaken more efficiently.
TN2314 issue one Route Availability. This technical note describes the standards associated with rail vehicle route availability (RA) numbers and gives guidance on the application of those standards to new rail vehicles and existing rail vehicles where a modification changes their weight. The technical note supports the standard GERT8006 issue four Route Availability Number for Assessment of Compatibility between Rail Vehicles and Underline Bridges.
TN2323 issue one Guidance on wagon maintenance related to recommendations from RAIB reports. This document has been prepared as an initial response to Recommendation 8 of RAIB report 01/2022 into the derailment at Llangennech. The technical documents findings from all reports, bulletins, and safety digests published by RAIB where maintenance of rail wagons has been identified as either a causal or contributing factor to an accident or incident, and draws them together in a single document.
Support continues for European and international standards committees CEN/TC256 Railway applications, CENELEC/TC9X Electrical and electronic applications for railways, ISO/TC269 Railway applications, European Specification for Railway Vehicles (Eurospec) and British Standards institute (BSI) RAE/1 Railway Applications.
Attendance remains consistent, with several elections conducted this year due to the retirement of long-standing members. This has allowed the election of members from differing technical and industry backgrounds. The committee is currently at full complement. A vacancy is expected following the member refresh cycle currently taking place. The drive to improve diversity continues, including using the guest or observer positions to introduce committee activities to a wider stakeholder group. However, despite proactive efforts, the demographic for RST SC continues to be relatively narrow.
Two new members have joined the RSSB rolling stock team during the year, allowing capabilities to be expanded. There is a renewed focus on freight, more support in gauging and structures, and the practical application of standards in rolling stock. The team has further enhanced its competence to work across several subsystems and comprehensively support the industry.
Mark OakleyChair of the Rolling Stock Standards Committee
Learn more about RST SC and their work on our website.
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