Abstract
After major fires in road tunnels in Europe, the International Union of Railways (UIC) assessed the safety of railway tunnels. Three types of accidents can occur in tunnels: derailments, train collisions and fires. The current regulations for safety in railway tunnels are outlined. The UIC produced a leaflet on safety in railway tunnels in 2001 in relation to infrastructure, rolling stock and operations. The following priorities were agreed: prevention, mitigation, escape and rescue. Individual measures related to train radios, escape routes, earthing of the overhead power line and radio facilities. The EU Commission has commissioned a technical specification for interoperability on safety in rail tunnels by 2005.