EN 15663:2017/prA1

Overview

EN 15663:2017/prA1 - Railway applications: Vehicle reference masses (CEN) defines a harmonized set of reference masses used to specify design, testing, acceptance, marking, delivery and operation requirements for rail vehicles. The standard establishes common mass categories for the whole vehicle or for specific systems/components so designers, manufacturers and authorities use consistent baseline values during engineering, certification and operational planning.

Key topics

• Defined reference masses: dead mass; design mass in working order; design mass under normal payload; design mass under exceptional payload; operational mass in working order; operational mass under normal payload.
• Scope of application: reference masses apply to whole vehicles and can be applied to subsystems or individual components where relevant.
• Payload specification (amendment prA1): clarified payload rules for M‑I (high‑speed and long‑distance) units, including numeric values used for passenger and standing loads:
  • Passenger mass = 80 kg (including luggage).
  • Normal design payload (PND): 100% of normal seats occupied; standing area loads typically 0 to 160 kg/m2 (0–2 passengers/m2); catering standing areas often modeled at 100 kg/m2 (1.25 passengers/m2); luggage compartments up to 300 kg/m2.
  • Normal operational payload (PNO): commonly assumes 80% seat occupancy and reduced standing area loads (examples in the amendment show 0 kg/m2 in passenger standing areas and 150 kg/m2 in luggage compartments).
  • Exceptional payload (PXD): higher standing area assumptions up to 320 kg/m2 (2–4 passengers/m2) in passenger and catering areas; luggage compartments up to 300 kg/m2.
• Exclusions: specification of tolerance values for reference masses is outside the standard’s scope (application standards may require tolerances). Environmental additional loadings (e.g., snow, retained/absorbed rainwater) are also excluded.

Applications

EN 15663:2017/prA1 is intended for practical use by:

• Rail vehicle designers and engineering teams for mass budgeting, structural design and dynamic performance analysis.
• Manufacturing and testing organisations for type testing, acceptance and marking.
• Certification bodies and conformity assessors to harmonize mass definitions during approval.
• Operators and infrastructure managers for operational planning, axle load management and train formation rules.
• Procurement and maintenance teams for specifying and verifying vehicle mass-related requirements.

Related standards

• This amendment modifies EN 15663:2017; users should refer to the base standard and national implementations.
• Tolerance and environmental-loading rules may be specified in separate application standards or sector-specific technical specifications developed by CEN/TC 256 or other railway standards committees.

Keywords: EN 15663:2017/prA1, vehicle reference masses, railway applications, dead mass, design mass, operational mass, payloads, M‑I high speed units, CEN.