New harmonised European fire standard for rail interiors opens opportunities for textiles

After about 20 years of standardisation work, the European harmonised standard EN 45545 Fire Protection on Rail Vehicles was published in March 2013. This standard specifies requirements for fire behaviour of materials and products in rail vehicle parts and components across the EU, including textiles, such as carpets, seat covers, wallcoverings, curtains, etc.

The safety requirements and tests are very stringent and will set the future state-of-the-art in many regions of the world. Over a transition period of three years, the existing national tests will remain valid in parallel to the new EN 45545. All national railways fire tests in Europe will have to be withdrawn by March 2016.

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