EMC in railways

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) must be maintained between the railway infrastructure: OLE, power supply; signalling or train control system; rolling stock and other electrical/electronic systems situated adjacent to the railway, in order to ensure system functionality and safety. In addition all electrical/electronic systems in use on European railway networks must conform with the essential protection requirements of the EMC Directive 2004/108/EC and the national implementing regulations; SI 2006 no.3418 in the UK and/or the interoperability directives. CENELEC the European electrical standards body, adopted a series of EMC standards for railways: EN 50121 parts 1-5: 2000, updated 2006. Meeting these standards indicates: minimum criteria for the equipment to function satisfactorily and safely in the railway environment and when the results are incorporated in Technical Documentation, the minimum criteria for conformance with the EU EMC Directive. In addition to these standards it will be necessary to meet the specific EMC infrastructure requirements eg: RSSB Group standard GM/RT 8015 or LU 2-01018-001/1-222 Al - 5-01018-001 [and G-222 Al- LU Manual of Best Practice]. Achieving EMC from a safety perspective and conformance with the appropriate standards and the regulations, will only be achieved by managing EMC within the design of equipment and systems. It will be necessary to generate the appropriate documentation in order to deal with the EMC aspects of safety (eg EMC hazard closures for the hazard log) and to demonstrate conformance with the EMC Regulations.