Quality of railway component assembly

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Screwed and bolted joints are often used to assemble safety-critical components on rail vehicles. The function of a bolted joint is to connect two or more parts sufficiently and safely over the intended service life under the conditions of the railway environment.

Bolted joints have huge implications for the safety of railway equipment. On the mechanical level, they are designed to transmit forces between the connected components without failure, separation or relative movement. On the electrical level, they are designed to safely ensure current transmission between electrical conductors and without separation or relative movement.

EVS-EN 17976:2024 sets out key considerations for designing and assembling such joints, based on assessing their criticality. This new standard describes the safety categories of bolted joints and gives an overview of the resulting requirements linked to these safety categories.

It provides requirements for assembly, quality and maintenance and guides the selection and design of bolted joints for rail vehicles in mechanical and electrical applications.

The application of this new standard results in an appropriate safety level for bolted joints in railway applications considering the design, assembly and service phases.