Railway Passenger Vehicle Design Loads and Structural Crashworthiness

The loading specifications to which passenger vehicle body structures are designed seek to fulfil two basic requirements. Firstly, normal service loads experienced over the life of the vehicle must be met without loss of serviceability. Secondly, passengers and crew must be afforded protection against loads outside the normal service experience. In the specifications used in Europe and the United States there is an emphasis on ‘proof’ loading, that is loading which causes no permanent deformation. This requirement is in conflict with the absorption of energy which is necessary to cushion passengers and crew involved in an accident. The author examines UK accident statistics and proposes alternative ways in which the basic aims of structural crashworthiness can be met.