New international rules for train accident recorders

摘要

One of the key tools used by investigators into July’s two tragic train crashes near Santiago di Compostela in Spain, and Lac Mégantic in Québec, Canada were the trains’ ‘black boxes.’ Although long deployed on aircraft, rail industry regulators and operators are increasingly appreciating the benefits of using onboard recording devices to monitor driving patterns and identify faults after an accident. To support this move the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) committee on the electrical safety of rail systems has issued a new standard IEC 62625-1 Ed.1.0 (2013-09).