CONSENSUS STANDARDS FOR THE RAIL TRANSIT INDUSTRY

This digest provides information on the successful implementation of a comprehensive standards process for the rail transit industry using American National Standards Institute consensus procedures under the aegis of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This effort, supported by the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), has established, for the first time in the United States, a permanent and ongoing process for developing rail transit standards using the consensus process. This digest discusses findings from work performed under TCRP Project G-4 and its extension, G-4A. The objective of the projects was to design a process for developing physical, logical, and electrical consensus standards for system and subsystem interfaces for elements of light rail, heavy rail, and commuter rail vehicles. In addition, the process was to be demonstrated through the production of one or more standards.