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EN 50155: The Essential Standard for Power Supply Design in Railway Applications
Standards are essential for the design and development of safe and reliable power supply products, especially for transportation systems such as railways. Technical standards address performance, design methodology, verification, implementation, safety, and risk assessment within the context of how they’re going to be used in the real world.
ENSURING SAFETY IN MODERN RAIL SYSTEMS
Power distribution systems on trains, no matter their purpose, must be safe and reliable, which means complying with a host of standards, EN 50155 prominent among them. EN 50155 is a European standard that covers electronic equipment used on rolling stock for railway applications, including power supplies. Though the standard was developed by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), it addresses the global rail market, and is the standard that power supplies for rail applications are often designed and tested to.
Trains, including commuter, light rail, freight, and high-speed are already quite popular in places like Europe and Japan, and other regions are increasingly turning to rail to move people and goods more efficiently. EN 50155 has become increasingly important as trains have become more technically advanced from an engineering and passenger experience perspective.
Onboard Wi-Fi, sophisticated climate systems, and complex control and management systems are all placing new demands on electrical systems. This has led to several revisions of EN 50155 as it is continuously updated to assure that standards are keeping up with the growing complexity.
THE PRIMARY STANDARD
EN 50155 covers all of the electronic equipment used for control, regulation, protection, diagnostics, and energy supply in rolling stock applications. The requirements placed on this equipment includes operating conditions, product design and documentation, testing, integration, and software.