In December. the FRA published a proposal to codify a set
of technical evaluation criteria for railroads seeking to use alternatively
designed passenger rolling stock using Crash Energy Management design
principles
The current
regulations rely on equipment design requirements which limit application of
recent technology. The proposed new
rules use more performance-based requirements to demonstrate safety in
alternative ways. FRA believes this rule would have a net beneficial effect on
the passenger rail industry and society as a whole.
The technical
criteria are based on established international standards and significant
research and testing both the industry and DOT's Volpe Transportation Systems
Center Codifying the technical criteria would dovetail with alternative
crashworthiness performance requirements FRA established in part 238 for the
front-end structures of cab cars and multiple-unit (MU) locomotives, thereby
broadening application of such requirements to other main structures.
