The EN 15085-2:2020 standard, which was released in December 2020, applies as of 21 April 2021. The following are important changes:
Certification Level
Certification Level 4 has been removed.
CL 1 applies to welded vehicles and components / weld-on-parts with high safety relevance
CL 2 applies to components / weld-on-parts of railway vehicles with a medium safety relevance (weld joints with high safety relevance acc. to EN 15085-3 are not permitted)
CL 3 applies to components / weld-on-parts of railway vehicles with a low safety relevance (weld joints with high and medium safety relevance acc. to EN 15085-3 are not permitted)
Types of Activities
Newly introduced are activity codes that apply in conjunction with each of the Certification Levels 1, 2, or 3. A manufacturer of welded railway vehicles or components can apply one or multiple activity codes to the scope of the certification.
Types of Activities
| Activity Code | Index | Description |
| Design | D | Stress Analysis, Design, Documentation for manufacturing and maintenance of welded vehicles and components. |
| Production | P | Producing (manufacturing), Alter and Inspecting / Testing welded vehicles and components (including spare parts). |
| Maintenance | M | Maintenance (repair) of welded vehicles and components by welding (including inspection & testing) |
| Purchase and Supply (sales) | S | Purchase and supply of welded components for new production or maintenance activities without executing welding activities |
Therewith, a manufacturers’ certificate will reference the type of activities to the certification declaration.
Minimum Requirements for Railway Manufacturers
EN 15085-2, Annex B, Table B.1 outlines the minimum requirements for Railway Manufacturers.
It relates the activity codes with the certification level CL 1, CL 2, and CL 3.
Responsible Welding Coordinator (rWC)
The expectations for welding coordinators have been reworked and updated, addressing technical knowledge through competency. In summary:
- Implementation of procedure about the qualification and establishment of welding coordinators
- The Tasks and Competence of Welding Coordinators are outlined in EN 15085-2:2020 Annex “A”, Table A.1. The table references the tasks, description, and welding coordinator level “A”, “B”, and “C”, concerning the phase of the product realization process. It provides an expectation for welding coordinators.
- Like in the previous edition, welding coordinators are grouped in level “A”, “B”, and “C”. New is the assessment of the technical knowledge (competence) and the classification of welding coordinators according to Annex “D”. The following 4 classifications are available:
- Basic knowledge of the technical subject
- Application and use of principles and rules
- Overall mastery of the subject
- Ability to develop method and procedures
EN 15085-6:2020
Railway applications – Welding of railway vehicles and components – Part 6: Maintenance welding requirements.
This new edition to the EN 15085 standard series applies to maintenance welding and the necessary information about the vehicle such as documentation of vehicle manufacturer (drawings, operation manuals, manufacturer requirements) as well as special guidelines and working instructions should be available. If a vehicle experiences damage, the standard emphasizes the integration of all parties in the maintenance activity, including the documentation and manuals from the OEM, repair facility qualifications/expectations, and when applicable the national authority.