advertisement

---

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has released two documents that outline structural safety requirements for heavy and light-rail vehicles.

The first editions of “RT-1-2009 Safety Standard for Structural Requirements for Light Rail Vehicles” and “RT-2-2008 Safety Standard for Structural Requirements for Heavy Rail Vehicles” aim to increase passenger safety and control damage to rail-car bodies if a collision occurs, according to the ASME. RT-1 and RT-2 define requirements for incorporating passive safety design concepts — such as crash energy management protocols — into rail vehicle designs.

The standards reflect best practices in rail vehicle design, testing and manufacturing, and provide state-of-the-art guidelines for manufacturers, transit system operators and governing bodies, ASME officials said in a prepared statement.

The society’s primary objective: provide a pair of uniform standards for adoption at all levels of jurisdiction — in North America, as well as in countries considering rail-car safety standards, they said.