Railway applications - Braking - General vocabulary - Amendment 1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)

Bahnanwendungen - Bremsen - Fachbegriffe - Änderung 1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)

Applications ferroviaires - Freinage - Vocabulaire général - Amendement 1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)

Železniške naprave - Zavore - Splošni slovar - Dopolnilo A1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)

General Information

Status
Not Published
Publication Date
13-Jun-2027
Current Stage
4020 - Submission to enquiry - Enquiry
Start Date
20-Nov-2025
Completion Date
20-Nov-2025

Relations

Overview

EN ISO 24478:2024/prA1:2025 is Amendment 1 to the ISO 24478:2023 draft amendment circulated for comment in 2025. This amendment refines the general vocabulary for railway braking systems, aligning terminology across brake units, subsystems and system-level concepts. The changes support clearer communication among designers, operators, maintenance teams and regulators and contribute to safer, more interoperable rolling stock.

Key changes include:

  • Addition of new admitted and preferred terms such as brake application, main brake system, and brake subsystem.
  • Refinement of existing entries: preferred term changes (e.g. brake system), modified definitions (e.g. device origin of braking force/torque), and adjusted notes for clarity.
  • New payload and mass terms: maximum braking payload and design mass under maximum braking payload (MXB).
  • Terminology updates for deceleration concepts: increasing/decreasing braking deceleration and equivalent braking deceleration.
  • Clarified component and unit language: friction brake subsystem components, actuator definitions, mean swept radius, scotch block (wheel chock) and brake slipper synonyms.
  • Introduction and expansion of brake blending concepts with four distinct types: substitution blending, fixed blending, programmed blending and continuous blending.

Key Topics

  • Brake subsystem vs brake system: Amendment clarifies when the term subsystem should be used (local combinations of brake units and controls) and when system remains the preferred term for broader concepts.
  • Blending strategies: Definitions now distinguish between substitution, fixed, programmed and continuous blending, enabling consistent specification of how dynamic and friction brakes share braking effort.
  • Payload and mass definitions: MXB and related entries standardize how maximal braking conditions are described for design and verification.
  • Component terminology: Updates make actuator, application force, clamping force, mean swept radius and retention/retarding force terms consistent across figures and annexes.

Applications

This amendment is directly useful for:

  • Rolling stock designers specifying brake performance and interfaces.
  • System integrators implementing brake blending algorithms and control strategies.
  • Maintenance teams using harmonized vocabulary for diagnostics and parts replacement.
  • Certification bodies and regulators referencing consistent terms in safety and interoperability assessments.

Practical benefits include reduced ambiguity in technical documentation, improved interoperability between suppliers and operators, and clearer traceability of braking requirements in contracts and standards references.

Related Standards

  • ISO 24478:2023 (base document)
  • National and regional railway technical standards that reference ISO vocabulary for braking

For implementers and reviewers, consult the amendment text and annex figures for updated relationships among brake devices, signals and system/subsystem mappings. Feedback should be directed to the responsible national standards body or ISO/TC 269/SC 2 secretariat as indicated in the draft.

Draft
EN ISO 24478:2024/oprA1:2026 - BARVE
English language
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Standards Content (Sample)


SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-januar-2026
Železniške naprave - Zavore - Splošni slovar - Dopolnilo A1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM
1:2025)
Railway applications - Braking - General vocabulary - Amendment 1 (ISO
24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)
Bahnanwendungen - Bremsen - Fachbegriffe - Änderung 1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM
1:2025)
Applications ferroviaires - Freinage - Vocabulaire général - Amendement 1 (ISO
24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 24478:2024/prA1:2025
ICS:
01.040.45 Železniška tehnika (Slovarji) Railway engineering
(Vocabularies)
45.040 Materiali in deli za železniško Materials and components
tehniko for railway engineering
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

DRAFT
Amendment
ISO 24478:2023/
DAM 1
ISO/TC 269/SC 2
Railway applications — Braking —
Secretariat: AFNOR
General vocabulary
Voting begins on:
AMENDMENT 1
2025-11-17
Applications ferroviaires — Freinage — Vocabulaire général Voting terminates on:
2026-02-09
AMENDEMENT 1
ICS: 01.040.45; 45.020
THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED
FOR COMMENTS AND APPROVAL. IT
IS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
AND MAY NOT BE REFERRED TO AS AN
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD UNTIL
PUBLISHED AS SUCH.
This document is circulated as received from the committee secretariat.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL,
TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND
USER PURPOSES, DRAFT INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO
ISO/CEN PARALLEL PROCESSING
BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR
POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO
WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED
TO SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS,
NOTIFICATION OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT
RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE AND TO
PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION.
Reference number
ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025(en)
DRAFT
ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025(en)
Amendment
ISO 24478:2023/
DAM 1
ISO/TC 269/SC 2
Railway applications — Braking —
Secretariat: AFNOR
General vocabulary
Voting begins on:
AMENDMENT 1
2025-11-17
Applications ferroviaires — Freinage — Vocabulaire général
AMENDEMENT 1
Voting terminates on:
ICS: 01.040.45; 45.020
2026-02-09
THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED
FOR COMMENTS AND APPROVAL. IT
IS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
AND MAY NOT BE REFERRED TO AS AN
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD UNTIL
PUBLISHED AS SUCH.
This document is circulated as received from the committee secretariat.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL,
© ISO 2025
TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND
USER PURPOSES, DRAFT INTERNATIONAL
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO
ISO/CEN PARALLEL PROCESSING
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO
WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
ISO copyright office
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
TO SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS,
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
NOTIFICATION OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE AND TO
PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION.
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland Reference number
ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025(en)
ii
ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025(en)
Foreword
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bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
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with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent
rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a)
patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that
this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at
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related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 269, Railway applications, Subcommittee SC 2,
Rolling stock.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iii
ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025(en)
Railway applications — Braking — General vocabulary
AMENDMENT 1
Introduction, second paragraph
Replace “may” with “can”
3.1.1
Add “brake application” as admitted term

3.1.2
Change “brake system” to preferred term and “brake” to admitted term

Add note 2 to entry as follows:
“Note 2 to entry: One braking demand is managed by only one brake system.”

3.1.3
Change definition as follows:
“device or assembly of components, that is the origin of the braking force/torque”

Change note 2 to entry as follows:
“Note 2 to entry: For tread brake and disc brake, it consists of the brake actuator and the friction couple
(pads or block), but the disc/wheel tread are part of the brake system.”

3.1.4
Add new 3.1.4 as follows:
3.1.4
main brake system
trainwide continuous brake system which enables emergency braking, service braking and parking
Note 1 to entry: The main brake system can also ensure holding function and immobilizing function.

3.1.5
ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025(en)
Add new 3.1.5 as follows:
3.1.5
brake subsystem
combination of brake units and their local control devices, usually per type of brake units (e.g. friction brake
subsystem)
3.5.4
In the definition, replace “hold” with “keep”

3.5.8, 3.5.9
Add the following new terms and definitions and renumber former 3.5.8 to 3.5.10 and former 3.5.9 to 3.5.11:
3.5.8
maximum braking payload
typical payload for maximal braking conditions which is lower or equal to exceptional payload
3.5.9
design mass under maximum braking payload
MXB
design mass in working order plus maximum braking payload
Note 1 to entry: The “design mass under maximum braking payload” is also known as “maximum braking load”.

3.6.28
Change term to “increasing braking deceleration”
In the definition, delete “variation in”

3.6.31
Replace “brake deceleration” with “deceleration”

3.6.32
Change term to “equivalent braking deceleration”
In the definition replace “brake deceleration” with “deceleration”

3.6.33
Change term to “decreasing braking deceleration”
In the definition delete “variation in”

3.7.1
Replace “brake system” with “brake subsystem”

ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025(
...

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Frequently Asked Questions

EN ISO 24478:2024/prA1:2025 is a draft published by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). Its full title is "Railway applications - Braking - General vocabulary - Amendment 1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)". This standard covers: Railway applications - Braking - General vocabulary - Amendment 1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)

Railway applications - Braking - General vocabulary - Amendment 1 (ISO 24478:2023/DAM 1:2025)

EN ISO 24478:2024/prA1:2025 is classified under the following ICS (International Classification for Standards) categories: 01.040.45 - Railway engineering (Vocabularies); 45.020 - Railway engineering in general. The ICS classification helps identify the subject area and facilitates finding related standards.

EN ISO 24478:2024/prA1:2025 has the following relationships with other standards: It is inter standard links to EN ISO 24478:2024. Understanding these relationships helps ensure you are using the most current and applicable version of the standard.

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