What is BS EN 15954-2 - Railway trailers and associated equipment safety requirements about?
BS EN 15954 is a European standard that discusses trailers and associated equipment for railways. BS EN 15954-2 is the second part of the multi-part series that outlines the technical requirements to deal with the significant hazards, hazardous situations, and events, common to trailers, as defined in the scope of EN 15954-1 to ensure the proper functioning of trailers and associated equipment including machinery, attachments, and equipment permanently fixed to the trailer, intended for construction, maintenance, and/or inspection of the railway infrastructure, emergency rescue, and recovery.
BS EN 15954-2 layouts the technical requirements to deal with the common hazards during transport, assembly and installation, commissioning, running on the track, use (including setting, programming, and process changeover), operation, cleaning, fault finding, maintenance, and decommissioning of the trailers when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer.
The common hazards dealt with under BS EN 15954-2 include the general hazards presented by the trailers, as well as the hazards presented by the following specific trailer functions:
- Track renewal
- Maintenance
- Craning
- Catenary renewal/maintenance
- Maintenance of the components of the infrastructure
- Inspection and measurement of the components of the infrastructure
- Tunnel inspection / ventilation
- Emergency rescue and recovery
during commissioning, use, maintenance, and servicing.
BS EN 15954-2 applies to trailers that are not intended to operate signalling and control systems. Other similar machines are dealt with in other European Standards.
Note 1: It is assumed that a finished standard automotive chassis used as a host for a road-rail trailer will offer an acceptable safety level for its designed functions before conversion. This specific aspect is not dealt with in BS EN 15954-2.
Note 2: Specific measures for exceptional circumstances are not dealt with within BS EN 15954-2. They can be the subject of negotiation between the manufacturer and the machine operator.
Note 3: BS EN 15954-2 does not deal with:
- Requirements concerning the quality of work and the performance of trailers
- Specific requirements established by a railway infrastructure manager
- Negotiations between the manufacturer and the trailer operator for additional or alternative requirements
- Requirements for use and running of the trailer on the public highway
- Hazards due to air pressure caused by the passing of high-speed trains at more than 200 km/h
- Requirements which could be necessary in case of use in extreme conditions, such as extreme ambient temperatures (below – 20°C or above + 40°C), highly corrosive or contaminating environment, e.g. due to the presence of chemicals and potentially explosive atmospheres.
Who is BS EN 15954-2 -Railway trailers and associated equipment safety requirements for?
BS EN 15954-2 on railway trailers and associated equipment safety requirements is useful for:
- Manufacturers of trailers and associated equipment for railways
- Maintenance and technical team
- Test centres
- Regulatory authorities
Why should you use BS EN 15954-2 - Railway trailers and associated equipment safety requirements?
A trailer is a non-self-propelled machine that can be hauled on rail wheels. The road-rail trailer with additional road wheels enables the trailer to be hauled on both rails and ground. Rail configuration is a state of a road-rail trailer when it is in place on the track ready to work or running along the track.
BS EN 15954-2 assists you with general safety requirements and measures on ergonomics, requirements for cabs, seats, standing places, communications between work positions, emergency stopping devices, thermal hazards, pressurised systems, protection from the risks of fire, and many more.
This assists in ensuring general safety for trailers and associated equipment.
BS EN 15954-2 also guides a list of significant hazards, additional safety requirements or measures for specific trailer functions, verification of the conformity to the requirements and/or safety measures, information for use, and marking.
This assists in dealing with common hazards during transport, assembly and installation, commissioning, running on the track and use and operation of trailers and associated equipment.
With obedience and compliance to BS EN 15954-2, you can standardise the safety measures for railway trailers and associated equipment. In addition, minimise the specific railway hazards of trailers and associated equipment.