This European Standard specifies minimum structural requirements for railway vehicle bodies.

This European Standard specifies the loads vehicle bodies should be capable of sustaining, identifies how material data should be used and presents the principles to be used for design validation by analysis and testing. This European Standard applies to locomotives and passenger rolling stock. EN 12663‑2 provides the verification procedure for freight wagons and also refers to the methods in this standard as an alternative for freight wagons.

The railway vehicles are divided into categories which are defined only with respect to the structural requirements of the vehicle bodies. Some vehicles may not fit into any of the defined categories; the structural requirements for such railway vehicles should be part of the specification and be based on the principles presented in this European Standard.

The standard applies to all railway vehicles within the EU and EFTA territories. The specified requirements assume operating conditions and circumstances such as are prevalent in these countries.

In addition to the requirements of this European Standard the structure of all vehicles associated with passenger conveyance may generally be required to have features that will protect occupants in the case of collision accidents. These requirements are given in EN 15227.