This report describes the recent fire safety research and practical fire experience of the major European railways. It includes a summary of the main causes and characteristics of railway vehicle fires, general approaches to the problem, and existing European fire protection requirements. The report outlines a variety of methods currently used to test and formally approve materials and structural items, including techniques for measuring material properties like smoke emission, ignitability, and surface spread of flame. Full-scale facilities like British Railway's "phoenix" fire test vehicle are described. Detailed drawings for test apparatus and facilities accompany the test. Also included are the formulas used in the classification of materials, as well as the fire safety standards for vehicle construction adopted by individual railways and the international Office for Research and Experiments (ORE). Finally, the report looks at two recent projects in fire detection technology and rescue procedures, along with several current or projected developmental activities.
Fire safety countermeasures applicable to transit vehicles are identified and evaluated. This document contains fault trees which illustrate the seque...
This report presents the results of an assessment of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) vehicle fire hardening. The report assesses the overal...
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United States Department of Transportation
[PDF-3.53 MB]
