John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)

Building and Fire Research Laboratory (U.S.)

Tech Report

Final Report March 1993-November 1993

United States. Federal Railroad Administration

NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITY ; NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Human Factors ;

could develop into potentially life-threatening events. Fire safety is an area of particular interest for both conventional intercity and commuter trains, as well as new alternative high-speed train technologies. These technologies include steel-wheel-on-rail and magnetic levitation (maglev) systems. In 1989, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published fire safety guidelines which address the fIamiability and smoke characteristics of materials used in intercity and commuter passenger cars. Recent advances in fire test methods and hazard analysis techniques necessitate re-examination of fire safety requirements for passenger trains. Several studies have indicated almost random ability of current tests to predict actual fire behavior. Fire safety in any application, including transportation systems, requires a multi-faceted systems approach. The effects of vehicle design, material controls, detection and suppression systems, and emergency egress/access on the overall fire safety of the particular transportation system must all be considered. This report presents a detailed comparison of fire safety approaches used for passenger trains in the United States, France, and Germany. Strengths and weaknesses of current methods for measuring the fire performance of rail transportation systems are presented. An optimum systems approach to fire safety which addresses typical passenger train fire scenarios is analyzed. A major conclusion is that fire hazard and fire risk assessment methods supported by measurement methods based on heat release rate (HRR) provide a means to better predict real world fire behavior.

PDF

R4021/RR493

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center
Federal Railroad Administration