BS EN IEC 60077-3:2019

What is BS EN IEC 60077‑3 - Railway applications about?  

BS EN IEC 60077 is a series of international standards on railway vehicles that specifies the rules for DC circuit-breakers. 

BS EN IEC 60077‑3 is the third part of the BS EN IEC 60077 series of documents that gives the rules for circuit-breakers, the main contacts of which are connected to DC power and/or auxiliary circuits. The nominal voltage of these circuits does not exceed 3 000 V DC.  

BS EN IEC 60077‑3 states specifically: 

• The characteristics of the circuit-breakers 
• The service conditions with which circuit-breakers complies with reference to Operation and behaviour in normal service, Operation and behaviour in the case of short circuit, Dielectric properties 
• The tests for confirming the compliance of the components with the characteristics under the service conditions and the methods to be adopted for these tests 
• The information to be marked on, or given with, the circuit breaker. 

NOTE: BS EN IEC 60077‑3 does not cover: 

• Multi-connection of electro-technical components to achieve a particular duty 
• Industrial circuit-breakers which complies with IEC 60947-2 
• DC circuit-breakers for fixed installations that comply with IEC 61992-2. 

Who is BS EN IEC 60077‑3 - Railway applications for? 

BS EN IEC 60077‑3 on DC circuit-breakers of railways is relevant to: 

• Power converter manufacturers 
• Railway engineers 
• Electrical engineers 
• Traction propulsion equipment manufacturers 
• DC rail operators 

Why should you use BS EN IEC 60077‑3 - Railway applications?  

A circuit breaker is an electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overcurrent/overload or a short circuit. 

BS EN IEC 60077‑3 is intended to list the characteristics of a circuit-breaker on which information is given by the manufacturer and which shall be verified by testing where relevant. 

Product information that includes component documentation and marking of data or identification of the product is given in BS EN IEC 60077‑3. Constructional and performance requirements are included in BS EN IEC 60077‑3, this could help you deliver operational performance capability of circuit-breakers. BS EN IEC 60077‑3 provides guidance on the tests to verify the characteristics of the circuit-breakers such as type tests, routine tests, and investigation tests. Verification of constructional and performance requirements in accordance with the above-mentioned tests methods is described in BS EN IEC 60077‑3. 

Moreover, BS EN IEC 60077‑3 helps you in designing and manufacturing DC circuit breakers for the traction circuits powering DC rail vehicles of all kinds to ensure the electrical safety of DC mass transit providing long service records for the operation and maintenance of the electric lines. 

What’s changed since the last update?  

BS EN IEC 60077‑3:2019 supersedes BS EN 60077‑3:2002. BS EN IEC 60077‑3:2019 includes some technical changes with respect to BS EN 60077‑3:2002. These include: 

• Procedure of verification of temperature rise is changed 
• Air-tightness test as type test, insulation resistance measurement is added