The rail transport industry

For more than a century, goods and passengers have been conveyed in rail-mounted vehicles. Population growth in the world’s large metropolitan regions has resulted in the rapid expansion of rail traffic around the globe, to now link towns and cities throughout the world. Here, ROSE enclosure systems are used to protect safety- and functionally relevant technology. They are, therefore, an important component in the rail-transport industry.

Rail vehicles
Rail vehicles and vehicle technology must function safely and reliably at all times. Great demands are made on fire safety, in passenger transportation, in particular. All the components used must be inspected and approved in accordance with the relevant standards, in order to assure maximum safety for passengers and train crews. Sensitive electronic systems – for the propulsion technology, couplings and other electrical systems, for example – must be optimally protected against external factors.
Infrastructure
Future-orientated rail networks assure passenger mobility and guarantee trouble-free transport of goods. The electronic systems used for transmission of signalling, and all data technology, must be reliably protected against external influences, in order to assure correct function and thus operation. Robust industrial enclosures made by ROSE are used in track-laying on large track-laying and maintenance vehicles, for example, and also in control and instrumentation systems.

Armed for use in demanding environments

ROSE enclosures for railway technology withstand a large range of external factors and environmental influences:

Vibration:
They protect electronic components in trains under continuous exposure to vibrations of between 5 and 25 g.
Environmental influences:
Moisture, dust, dirt and UV radiation must not damage the enclosure material.
Fire safety:
The enclosure material must meet the requirements of specific hazard levels (HL1 to HL3), depending on the particular application.
Overheating:
Enclosures for power electronics must disperse the heat generated correctly.
Electromagnetic radiation:
Enclosures used in the rail-transport industry should be insensitive to electromagnetic fields.
Stone chipping:
Enclosures used externally in rail technology must withstand impacts and shock safely.
Temperature fluctuations:
Even severely fluctuating temperatures must not affect the sensitive electronic systems installed in and around the train.

Anforderungen Bahntechnik-ROSE Systemtechnik

abb-rose-montage-elektronische-abnahme-1

Inspected to standards applicable to rail transport

The quality and reliability of our products is of special importance to us. For this reason, ROSE enclosures are tested to standards applicable to rail transport by external laboratories for resistance to shock and vibration, and for fire safety. This enables our customers to integrate our products with full confidence into their systems and to rely on these products’ technological properties and correct functioning in the various applications. Our enclosures are suitable for use in areas with requirements in accordance with Hazard Level HL3, after inspection in accordance with DIN EN 45545 (“Fire protection on railway vehicles”).

EN 45545 – Fire protection on railway vehicles

EN 45545, Part 1 contains the basic definitions and general rules for the classification of rail vehicles into types by utilisation and design, and also fire-safety protection targets.

EN 45545-1	General rules
EN 45545-2	Requirements for fire behaviour of materials and components
EN 45545-3	Fire resistance requirements for fire barriers
EN 45545-4	Fire safety requirements for rolling stock design
EN 45545-5	Fire safety requirements for electrical equipment including that of trolley buses, track guided buses and magnetic leviation vehicles.
EN 45545-6	Fire alarm and fire-fighting systems and supporting fire-safety provisions
EN 45545-7	Fire safety requirements for flammable liquid and flammable gas installations

Utilisation category	Design Categorie N: Standard vehicles	Design Categorie A: Vehicles for unmanned operation and carrying no persons trained for emergency situations	Design Categorie D: Double-decker vehicles	Design Categorie S: Sleeping and couchette cars
1 / Surface vehicles	HL1	HL1	HL1	HL2
2 / Tunnels max. 5 km	HL2	HL2	HL2	HL2
3 / Tunnels > 5 km	HL2	HL2	HL2	HL3
4 / No facility for side evacuation	HL3	HL3	HL3	HL3

EN 45545, Part 2 describes requirements for the fire behaviour of materials and components.
These – like the paint and coating systems used – are submitted, inter alia, to the following four tests:

Lateral spread of flame (in acc. with EN ISO 5658, Part 2)
Determination of optical density (in acc. with EN ISO 5659, Part 2)
Determination of heat release rate (in acc. with EN ISO 5660, Part 1)
Detection of smoke toxicity (in acc. with EN ISO 5659, Part 2)

The right enclosure for every application

We have been system suppliers and development partners for the rail-transport industry for many years, and are optimally familiar with this industry’s needs and requirements. We supply and individually modify industrial enclosures to qualify them for use in a large and diverse range of potential applications:

Our stainless-steel enclosures provide an ideal protection concept for underfloor-mounted vehicle electronics.
Aluminium profile enclosures like the NoVoTronic protect the sensitive electronics that process camera data and vehicle signals.
Our lightweight plastic enclosures can be used for the electronic distribution system of heating systems in the passenger compartment.
Weathering-resistant polyester enclosures are used to protect the electronics for the actuators of roof-mounted pantographs in local and long-distance traffic.
Our special enclosures are utilised in, for example, automatic track warning systems to warn track workers of approaching trains.

Aluminium enclosures

ROSE aluminium enclosures have been specially developed for use in harsh environments. They have the following features:

A high-quality aluminium alloy
Degree of Protection IP 66, higher degrees of protection on request
High resistance to shock and vibration
Seals for service temperatures from -40° C to 130° C
Suitable for use in environments of Hazard Level HL3 (EN 45545)

The Aluform and AluFormPlus enclosures, a further development of our standard aluminium enclosures, combine robust materials with high design standards. Both enclosure types are particularly suitable for customised visible visual-display and input solutions.

Polyester enclosures

ROSE’s polyester enclosures for rail applications meet the requirements of EN 45545 (Fire protection on railway vehicles).

They consist of a special thermoset material which neither melts nor drips if exposed to fire and emits only moderate amounts of smoke.
In testing of enclosures in an accredited test laboratory, this material achieved outstanding results in three of four test categories.
These enclosures can be used in virtually all railway technology projects.

Stainless-steel enclosures

Corrosion-resistant, robust, durable: ROSE’s stainless-steel enclosures are used by our customers primarily on train roofs or in the underfloor zone. The material proves its capabilities here in particular in resistance to external factors, such as rain and stone chipping.

Possessing Degree of Protection IP 66 (IP 69K on request), they reliably protect electronic components in harsh environments.
These stainless-steel enclosures are suitable for the -40° C to +80° C temperature range.
ROSE also supplies special solutions for specific applications.
The enclosure material meets all requirements of fire-safety Hazard Level 3.

Safe according to the American fire protection standard NFPA 130

This standard specifies fire protection and life safety requirements for underground, surface, and elevated fixed guideway transit and passenger rail systems. Fire testing in accordance with the American Standard NFPA 130 includes 2 individual tests:

ASTM E 662: Standard Test Method for Surface Flammability of Materials Using a Radiant Heat Energy source

In this method, there are specific limits of optical density of smoke recorded after 1.5 and 4 minutes:

Parameter	Limit value	Result PG 01	Result PG 62
Smoke optical density (Ds1,5)	100	0	0
Smoke optical density (Ds4)	200	1	4

ASTM E 162: Standard Test Method for Surface Flammability of Materials Using a Radiant Heat Energy source

The limit value for this method is 35.

Parameter	Limit value	Result PG 01	Result PG 62
Radiant panel index	35	0,7	2,2

All tests of product group 01 and product regarding the coating structure were passed with flying colors.
The corresponding certificates are available for download here.

The rail transport industry

Links

Armed for use in demanding environments

Inspected to standards applicable to rail transport

EN 45545 – Fire protection on railway vehicles

The right enclosure for every application

Safe according to the American fire protection standard NFPA 130

Products

Industry-specific solutions

Downloads

Rose Systemtechnik GmbH

The rail transport industry

Links

Armed for use in demanding environments

Inspected to standards applicable to rail transport

EN 45545 – Fire protection on railway vehicles

The right enclosure for every application

Safe according to the American fire protection standard NFPA 130

Products

Industry-specific solutions

Downloads

Rose Systemtechnik GmbH

ROSE worldwide

Please choose your preferred language: