Product Classification under EN45545-1 Railway Standard for Fire Safety

24 Oct 2019 | Posted by Andrew Onions

The European railway standard for fire safety EN45545 was introduced as a mandatory requirement throughout Europe, superseding UK fire regulations such as BS6853, and is now mandatory across Europe and aims to protect passengers and rail personnel against onboard fire incidents in railway vehicles including high speed trains, regional trains, trams, and underground trains.

EN 45545-2 specifies the reaction to fire performance requirements for materials and products used on railway vehicles as defined in EN 45545-1, defining tighter requirements for fire behaviours of materials and components including flooring, seats, cables and seals.

The operation and design categories defined in EN 45545-1 are used to establish hazard levels that are used as the basis of a classification system.

For each hazard level, this part specifies the test methods, test conditions and reaction to fire performance requirements. 

Products are classified according to 26 requirement sets (R1-R26) depending on where the materials are used. Each requirement has a corresponding series of test performance criteria.

Examples of product requirements:

• R1 requirements for horizontal / vertical interior surfaces, e.g. ceiling and walls, window frames or display screens.
• R22 / 23 requirements for interior seals, inductance coils, coils and contacts.
• R24 / 25 requirements for printed circuit boards
• R26 requirements for small electronic products

Hazard Levels

Railway vehicles are classified in accordance with the fire hazard level associated with their design and operation. There are three hazard levels; HL1, HL2 and HL3 with HL1 being the lowest requirement and HL3 being the highest.

The classification depends on how many kilometres the trolley is in tunnels and whether it is automatic, two-storey or if sleepers are on board.

Testing

A series of tests are used to measure how the product compares to the product requirement sets. Some test methods include:

• TO1 Oxygen Index
• 03 Flue gas density
• T12 Smoke toxicity
• Ignitability
• Heat Release

Key parameters that are measured include flame spread, ignitability, heat release, smoke opacity and toxicity. Having passed the tests, materials used for producing the final product are given approval according to EN 45545-2 for use in trains. A test report will indicate which tests the material has been approved.

The test methods are unique to each of the material classes to ensure they are relevant to the application such as - structural surface, furniture or electrical equipment.  

How to select rail components 

1. Determine which product requirements apply (R1-R26)
2. Determine the fire hazard level (HL1-HL3)
3. Identify a suitable material that meets the above ratings and the technical requirements for the application.EN

EN 45545-2:2013 Fire Test to railway components – List products (R1-R26)