What is BS EN 16494 – Requirements for ERTMS Trackside Boards about?
BS EN 16494 is an international standard that focuses on requirements for ERTMS trackside boards in railway applications. BS EN 16494 defines the requirements for the provision, visibility, readability, maintenance and testing of a specific set of ERTMS trackside boards associated with the following DMI and ETCS track conditions:
- ETCS stop marker
- ETCS location marker, the trackside ETCS signal to identify a specific location on the line
- Level transition, corresponding to transitions between ETCS levels
Note: The ETCS and GSM-R signs are needed when the information normally associated with the DMI symbols is provided at the trackside. The application of ERTMS trackside boards is not within the scope of BS EN 16494
Who is BS EN 16494 - Requirements for ERTMS Trackside Boards for?
BS EN 16494 on requirements for ERTMS Trackside Boards is useful for:
- Board manufacturing companies
- Board designers
- Railway authorities
- Regulatory authorities
Why should you use BS EN 16494 - Requirements for ERTMS Trackside Boards?
Sighting requirements for the boards may be different according to their level of authority: marker boards ‘End of Authority’ need to be treated with the same level of authority as a signal and may have enhanced sighting requirements; the remaining boards may be sighted as generic signage sighting rules. The sighting process needs to be implemented by national safety rules. BS EN 16494 includes the arrangement of the boards and their interface with existing systems (track, cab design including cab sight lines, visibility by the driver and train headlamps).
BS EN 16494 produced to specification and harmonise a specific set of ERTMS trackside boards to support ETCS and GSM-R operations.
The existing DMI symbols in BS EN 16494 were considered for the trackside board designs but were found to be unreadable due to the complexity of the designs. For this reason, the abstract designs shown in BS EN 16494 were developed.
