Battery and hydrogen drives in rail vehicles contribute to the decarbonisation of European rail transport. However, there are still no comprehensible harmonised safety standards for alternative drive concepts. TÜV SÜD’s ‘Assessment Guide for alternative propulsion systems in rail vehicles’ provides practical guidance for a holistic assessment.
The use of alternative propulsion systems in rail transport involves risks that are not yet adequately addressed by relevant rail regulations. For this reason, manufacturers and operators must resort to standards from other industries in order to assess risks and control hazards. However, often only a safety assessment of individual components is carried out, rather than an assessment of the overall system.
TÜV SÜD’s Assessment Guide emphasises the need for a comprehensive safety analysis – from hazard identification and residual risk assessment to evaluation of the overall system. It deals with the integration of alternative drive systems into vehicles, infrastructure, operation and maintenance, and with this holistic approach aims to harmonise the assessment of risks and safety measures for alternative drive systems and make them more transparent.
Practical guidance for safety assessment
The guide is aimed at vehicle manufacturers and system integrators, component and battery manufacturers, approval and assessment bodies, operators and authorities. It provides structured and practical guidance for the safety assessment of alternative drive systems in the European railway context.
The Assessment Guide provides an overview of the regulatory framework, describes the procedure for a systematic safety analysis, identifies risk-based approval and acceptance criteria, and emphasises the importance of a holistic view of the overall system and the need for an independent safety assessment.
The author of the ‘Assessment Guide for alternative propulsion systems in rail vehicles’ is Tolga Wichmann, Lead Assessor Alternative Propulsion for Rolling Stock at TÜV SÜD Rail GmbH. Tolga Wichmann has been involved in the development of rail vehicles for almost 20 years. As Lead Assessor, he is responsible for the safety assessment of battery and hydrogen drives in the railway environment. He is an officially recognised railway expert for preventive fire protection, the investigation of fire incidents and for evacuation and emergency rescue concepts.
TÜV SÜD supports and assists manufacturers, maintenance providers and operators in the safety assessment of alternative drive systems – from the early development phase to final approval, as well as during commissioning and maintenance. The experts have extensive experience with the expert reports and assessments described in the Assessment Guide.
