Results of Fire Test of Aluminum Car Structure Bombardier Innovia APM 300 System Available to Purchase

Passenger rail equipment is required to meet the fire test standards as outlined in NFPA 130 Standard for Fixed Guideway Transit and Passenger Rail Systems, 2010 Edition. Bombardier’s recently released INNOVIA APM 300 car was tested under the provisions of this standard. As part of the testing process, the car structure is subjected to direct flame (to the underside of the car structure) for a minimum 15 minutes in accordance with ASTM E 119. In anticipation of more stringent requirements from some potential customers, Bombardier decided to develop two options for vehicle fire protection. The first and base option is a vehicle that meets the 15 minute requirement. The next option is a vehicle that will survive an ASTM E 119 test for 30 minutes. This paper will summarize the results of the fire tests including pretest and post-test analysis and observations.