04 Feb 2025
AS 7520.1 Body Structural Requirements – Part 1 Locomotive – Review
The closing date for comments – Friday, April 4, 2025.
The review of AS 7520.1 Body Structural Requirements – Part 1 Locomotive is now open for Public Consultation.
How this product helps the rail industry
The update to this Standard aims to improve safety for locomotive crew in the event of a rollover by adding requirements for cab mounted doors, structural safety of the cab and windows/windscreens to improve the survivability and minimisation of injuries to locomotive crew in such accidents.
This review is in response to the recommendations of the ATSB Report into the derailment of XPT passenger train ST23 at Wallen Victoria in 2020. This accident resulted in two fatalities (train crew in the XPT locomotive cab). Additionally, in the passenger carriages, eight passengers were seriously injured and 58 passengers and onboard crew sustained minor injuries. The review has specifically analysed the crashworthiness performance, doors and glazing of locomotives.
About
AS 7520.1 describes requirements for the structural strength of railway locomotive bodies.
The objective of AS 7520.1 is to:
- prescribe the minimum structural integrity level of the vehicle body to ensure safe performance under normal operating conditions and extreme operating conditions; and
- minimise risks to train crew and members of the general public in the event of collisions or derailments.
AS 7520.1 was previously reviewed in 2022, however at that time the final ATSB report into the derailment of passenger train ST23 was unavailable.
How to contribute
AS 7520.1 Body Structural Requirements – Part 1 Locomotive will be available for public consultation for 60 days. All interested parties are encouraged to provide comments during this time.
The draft standard is available to download here.
To make comments on the draft, please use the commenting tools in Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to comment in-line with the text.
Please return your PDF with comments to bwooldridge@rissb.com.au by Friday 4 April 2025.
As the rail industry’s accredited Standards Development Organisation (SDO), RISSB continues to collaborate with government, rail operators and industry leaders to improve the efficiency and harmonisation of the Australia and New Zealand’s rail network, ensuring national interoperability, safety and sustainability into the future.