Who is it for?

The EN 15085 standard sets out a quality management system for the welding of rail vehicles. The guidelines contained therein are primarily intended for welding workshops, but also apply to organisations involved in the design, assembly and distribution of welded components for rail vehicles.

The standards described in EN 15085 are specifically intended for:

• manufacturers of rail vehicles and their components,
• companies providing welding services to the railway industry,
• entities involved in the repair of rail vehicles and their components (using welding processes),
• entities responsible for maintaining rail vehicles (referred to as ECMs – Entities in Charge of Maintenance) in a condition ensuring their safe operation on the railway network.

Information about the standard

The EN 15085 standard was developed by a Technical Committee of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and published in 2007 as a standard binding on all CEN members. Consequently, the guidelines of the Polish Committee for Standardisation regarding the quality of welding on rail vehicles are based on this standard.

The EN 15085 standard is consistent with the recommendations of the ISO 9001 general quality management system, but also contains guidelines specific to welding processes in the railway sector. Compliance with these guidelines is particularly important because the operation of rail vehicles involves the application of enormous forces (loads, stresses) on their structural components.

The quality of welding on structural components is difficult to verify without destroying them, so any imperfections usually only become apparent during use. Therefore, maintaining the standards set out in EN 15085 has a huge impact on passenger safety.

The EN 15085 standard contains guidelines that enable high quality to be built into the product. It sets out procedures from the design stage of the rail vehicle welding process, through its implementation, to product inspection and the preparation of as-built documentation.

Benefits of implementation

Implementing the requirements set out in the EN 15085 standard enables:

• maintaining strict control over welding processes,
• improving the efficiency of these processes and the quality of products,
• minimising costs associated with defective products,
• enhancing the safety of rail vehicle users.

Certification to EN 15085 is nowadays an integral part of the credible image of companies involved in the manufacture of rail vehicles. Only by demonstrating the ability to produce products of the highest quality can one gain the trust of business partners. In practice, therefore, EN 15085 certification is the key to participating in the domestic and European markets.