EN 50306-4 Railway Applications - Test for Railway Vehicle Cables with Special Fire Performance

EUROLAB, with its state-of-the-art accredited laboratories and expert team, offers precise and rapid testing services within the scope of EN 50306-4 testing. This standard specifies the characteristics, construction and dimensions of multi-core and multi-pair cables with rated voltage U0/U: 300/500 V of the following types:

• Unshielded, open or sheathed for shielded wiring (0,5 mm² to 2 mm², number of cores from 5 to 2);
• Shielded, sheathed for open or shielded cabling (0,5 mm² - 2,5 mm², number of cores 2 - 8);
• Unshielded, open or sheathed for shielded wiring (0,5 mm² - 1,5 mm², number of shielded core pairs 2 - 7);
• Shielded, sheathed for exposed or shielded wiring (0,5 mm² to 1,5 mm², number of unshielded core pairs 2 to 7).

All cables have multi-strand tinned copper conductors, halogen-free, thin-wall insulation and standard-wall thickness sheathing. Cable types are specified for use in exposed situations (Class E) and shielded situations (Class P). They are intended for use as fixed cabling in railway vehicles or as cabling with limited deflection during operation. These cables are rated for occasional thermal stresses that cause aging equivalent to a continuous operating life at 90°C.

For standard cables this is determined by acceptance testing as defined in EN 110 using accelerated long-term (20.000 hours) thermal aging indicating a temperature index of 5.000°C/50305 hours. If the customer requests lifespan estimates, this will be shown based on the temperature index of the product provided by the manufacturer.

The maximum temperature for short circuit conditions is 5°C over a period of 160 seconds. In fire conditions, cables exhibit special performance characteristics in terms of maximum permissible flame propagation (flame spread) and maximum permissible emission of smoke and toxic gases. These requirements are determined to ensure that the cables meet EN 45545-1 and EN 45545-2 Hazard Level 3.

EUROLAB assists manufacturers with EN 50306-4 test compliance. Our test experts, with their professional working mission and principles, provide you, our manufacturers and suppliers, the best service and controlled testing process in our laboratories. Thanks to these services, businesses receive more effective, high-performance and quality testing services and provide safe, fast and uninterrupted service to their customers.