Standards and test scenarios compared

IEEE 1482.1 · FRA 49 CFR 229 · Canada LVVR · IEC 62625-1 · APTA RP-024-19

A specification for a crash hardened memory module usually names several documents at once, as though they all required the same thing. They do not. This page sets out what each document covers, which tests it actually applies, and which of them a project needs to name.

The documents

Document	What it governs
IEEE Std 1482.1 1999 and 2013 editions	Event recorder requirements, including §4.6 crashworthiness of the memory module. The 2013 edition combines the 1999 criteria with the FRA requirements and raises the severity of several tests, which is why a module certified to 2013 also satisfies 1999.
49 CFR 229, Appendix D	Criteria for certifying a crashworthy event recorder memory module. A cab-mounted image or audio recording device memory module is also treated as an ERMM. Certification is by manufacturer marking, backed by retained test verification data.
49 CFR 229.135 and .136	What must be recorded and where it must be stored. §229.135(b) requires the event recorder to record on a certified crashworthy ERMM. §229.136(a)(1) requires a cab-mounted image recording system in every lead cab in commuter or intercity passenger service; §229.136(a)(5) requires those image recordings to be retained on a memory module meeting the certified crashworthy ERMM requirements of Appendix D, or on a remote storage system FRA has approved as giving at least equivalent protection; §229.136(e)(2) requires sample downloads from that module at each annual test.
Locomotive Voice and Video Recorder Regulations Canada, SOR/2020-178	Made under the Railway Safety Act following the 2018 amendments in Bill C-49, and addressing long-standing Transportation Safety Board of Canada recommendations. Requires voice and video recording in controlling locomotive cabs, with 48 hours of data stored on at least one crash-protected memory module, older data permanently erased, and the module meeting the crashworthiness requirements of IEEE Std 1482.1-2013.
IEC 62625-1	On-board driving data recording. Beyond the IEEE 1482.1 set it adds a magnetic field test, applied to the CHM86 and the CHM84 under §4.3.1.7. The standard also permits more than one compliance route, and allows its options to be followed separately or mixed, so two modules can both be compliant against different combinations — worth establishing which route a specification means before comparing suppliers.
APTA RT-OP-RP-024-19	Recommended Practice for crash and fire protected inward and outward facing audio and image recorders in rail transit operating compartments — selection, installation, operation, maintenance and data management.

^{49 CFR Part 299, Appendix A applies equivalent criteria to high-speed rail systems.}

United States and Canada passenger rail compared

	FRA, 49 CFR 229	Canada, SOR/2020-178
Instrument	Regulation, mandatory	Regulation, mandatory
Scope	Lead cab in commuter and intercity passenger service	Controlling locomotive cabs of federally regulated railways
Crashworthiness standard	Appendix D to Part 229 (ERMM criteria)	IEEE Std 1482.1-2013, cited directly
Retention on the protected module	12 hours minimum, §229.136(a)(4) — the most recent 12 hours of operation	48 hours, with older data permanently erased
Minimum inward frame rate	5 fps	15 fps
Inward camera performance	Complete coverage of all cab areas where a crewmember is normally positioned, including the instruments and controls, at sufficient resolution to record crewmember actions	The work area, an unobstructed view of instruments and controls, and an unobstructed view of faces and upper bodies close enough to discern facial features and expressions
Outward camera performance	Mandatory. Aimed parallel to the track centreline, able to distinguish wayside signal aspects and resolve switch points 50 ft ahead, at 15 fps, in daylight and under headlight illumination	Not required by the LVVR regulation, which addresses the cab interior
Low light	Ambient cab light, switching automatically to infrared or another mode when the light falls too low	Clear video in all lighting conditions, without prescribing the method
Time synchronisation	Accurate time and date stamps. No synchronisation with other onboard systems specified	UTC stamps, audio and video synchronised to the second, and synchronised with event recorder data, GPS where fitted and outward facing camera data where present. Synchronisation tested at least every 12 months
In force	Systems installed since 12 October 2024; whole fleet by 12 October 2027	Since 2 September 2022
Microphone performance	Not specified, since audio is not required	Voice microphones 150 Hz to 3.5 kHz; aural warning microphones 150 Hz to 6 kHz. Each microphone on its own channel, positioned so the engineer’s voice is distinguishable from the conductor’s
Voice recording	Audio at the Secretary's discretion; audio systems installed after 12 October 2024 fall under the same storage requirement	Voice recording required alongside video

^{Compared from the internal regulatory comparison, SOR/2020-178 against 49 CFR 229.136.}

Because the Canadian regulations cite IEEE Std 1482.1-2013 directly, a module tested to that standard satisfies the Canadian crashworthiness requirement as well as the FRA criteria.

Two of these rows drive system design rather than storage. The Canadian time synchronisation requirement means the video, the audio and the event recorder have to agree to the second, so the memory has to be integrated with the recorder rather than sit beside it. The US outward facing camera criteria — signal aspects distinguishable and switch points resolved at 50 ft — set the resolution, and with it the bitrate the module has to absorb.

What end users actually specify

Everything above is the base legal requirement. Individual operators routinely set a much higher bar. Current applications commonly record 1080p at 15 to 30 frames per second at high quality, and depending on the encoding method that raises the required bandwidth and capacity dramatically. Operators have also specified retention far beyond the legal minimum — many days rather than hours — across several cameras, in some cases including passenger areas. A maximum of one second of effective data loss after a power cut is sometimes a requirement in its own right.

Specify against the operator’s requirement, not the regulation. The regulation sets the floor for what has to survive; the camera schedule and the retention period set the capacity.

Made in the USA

All CHM Modules are Manufactured in the USA - FTA Buy America compliant

What the module goes through

The sequence below is common to IEEE 1482.1 §4.6 and Appendix D to Part 229, with the magnetic field test added from IEC 62625-1:2013. Where the two differ, both figures are given.

Test	What is applied
Static crush	110 kN (25,000 lbf) sustained for 5 minutes
Impact shock	55 g peak, 100 ms duration
Penetration	6.4 mm (0.25 in) steel bolt weighing 23 kg (50 lb), dropped from 1.5 m (5 ft)
Fire, high temperature	750 °C (1382 °F) for approximately 60 minutes under FRA; 650 °C (1200 °F) for approximately 30 minutes under IEEE
Fire, low temperature	300 °C for approximately 60 minutes and 100 °C for approximately 5 hours under IEEE; 260 °C for approximately 10 hours under FRA
Fluid immersion	No. 1 and No. 2 diesel to ASTM D975, water, salt water and lubricating oil, 48 hours in each, plus 10 minutes in fire extinguishing agent
Hydrostatic pressure	Fresh water and salt water at 15 m (50 ft) depth for 48 hours
Magnetic field	Magnetic field exposure per IEC 62625-1:2013 §4.3.1.7

^{Levels as published for the CHM86 and CHM26 housings. Confirm the figures for the specific model you are specifying.}

Two facts that decide most specifications

The railway standards that are not crashworthiness

These are routinely conflated with the crash standards. They govern how the unit behaves as a piece of vehicle equipment, not how it survives an accident.

EN 50155	Electrical and environmental requirements for electronic equipment on rolling stock
EN 50121-3-2	Electromagnetic compatibility for equipment on board vehicles
EN 50153	Protective provisions relating to electrical hazards
EN 61373	Shock and vibration testing, category 1 class A
EN 45545-2	Fire behaviour of materials and components, hazard level 3
NFPA 130	Fixed guideway transit and passenger rail systems

Model coverage

Model	1482.1-1999	1482.1-2013	49 CFR 229 App. D	IEC 62625-1	EN 50155
CHM86	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CHM26	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CHM84	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CHM82	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes

^{Certified capacity ceilings differ by model. See each product page.}

The certification analysis sets out each model against each standard, with the test laboratory, the report reference and the tested capacity. It is a controlled document and is not published for open download — we send it by email against a work address, so that you receive the revision if it changes.

Request the certification analysis

Ask an engineer

Not sure which edition your project has to meet? Send us the specification section and we will tell you.

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