ISO/TC 269 12th Plenary Meeting Takes Place in Japan

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June 14, 2023
Railway Technical Research Institute

The Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) established the Railway International Standards Center (RISC) and engages in international standardization activities while cooperating with other organization members to promote international standardization in the railway sector.

The 12^th Plenary Meeting of ISO (International Organization for Standardization)/TC 269（Railway applications) was held, and RISC was honored to host the plenary meeting of the technical committee and sessions of the subcommittees.

This was the second time the meeting was held in Japan, the first time being in November 2013. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were obliged to have only online meetings during the last three years, but this time many joined the meeting held mainly face-to-face.

12th Plenary meeting

Date:	June 9, 2023 Note) Subcommittee sessions were held from June 6 to 8, 2023.
Venue:	Bellesalle Jinbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
No. of delegates:	134 (82 in person, 52 online) Overseas: 108 delegates from 17 countries（59 in person, 49 online） Japan: 26 delegates (23 in person, 3 online) from railway operators, manufacturers, RTRI, and, as observers, officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) as well as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

Outline of the meeting

The plenary meeting was held to share among the members the outcomes of deliberations conducted over the past year and the progress status of ongoing projects relating to ISO/TC 269. It also served as a kick-off meeting where new standardization projects were discussed and the new deliberation committee was organized.

The meeting was launched with the opening speech of Chairperson, Hiroshi Tanaka (RTRI), followed by the deliberations below:

・The progress status of deliberations for standardization was reported and discussed for the nine projects started under the direct responsibility of ISO/TC 269, and the progress status of deliberations for standardization on the wheel-rail contact geometry was approved.

・Based on the reports released by the subcommittees under ISO/TC 269, the participants discussed new work item proposals and the progress status of deliberation projects relating to 34 projects. The 34 projects included the following six projects led by Japan, specifically:
“Railway applications — Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for rolling stock — Part 4: Basic design parameters, test and inspection items for the HVAC unit”
“Railway Applications — Running time calculation for timetabling — Part 2: Distance-speed diagrams and speed curves”
“Railway Applications— Concepts and basic requirements for the planning of railway operation in the event of natural disasters”

- 12 infrastructure-related projects, including “switches and crossings” and “switch machines.”
- 15 rolling stock-related projects, including “luggage racks” and “electrical lighting for rolling stock.”
- 7 operation- and service-related projects, including “rolling stock relevant operation and maintenance documentation” and “transportation of unusual cargoes.”

Many participants attended the meeting from Japan and successfully demonstrated to other participating countries the leading role Japan plays for international standardization through discussions on the progress status of deliberations for standardization and new work items. Consequently, Japan's presence in ISO/TC 269 has been significantly enhanced.

At the meeting, Sweden (Stockholm) was chosen to host the next plenary meeting scheduled in June 2024.

* You can see all the photos and figures in the PDF file above.