BS EN 1909:2017

What is BS EN 1909 - Recovery and evacuation for cableway installations about?

BS EN 1909 discusses safety requirements for cableway installations designed to carry persons.  BS EN 1909 is a European standard that provides for the recovery and evacuation of cableway installations.

BS EN 1909 outlines the safety requirements applicable to the recovery of carriers and the evacuation of passengers from cableway installations designed to carry persons, except for ski-tows. BS EN 1909 applies to various types of installations and considers their environment.

BS EN 1909 includes requirements relating to the prevention of accidents and worker protection, without affecting the application of national requirements relating to construction law or statutory law, or the protection of specific groups of people.

BS EN 1909 guides on the requirements relating to the methods and equipment to be used to ensure the safety of passengers on cableways in the event of an extended stoppage of the installation.

Note1: BS EN 1909 covers only the situation resulting from immobilization of the carriers, even if the passengers are not in immediate danger.

Note2: BS EN 1909 does not cover specific operations resulting from an accident.

Note3: BS EN 1909 does not deal with design requirements for carriers.

Note4: BS EN 1909 does not apply to installations for the transportation of goods by rope or to lifts.

Who is BS EN 1909 - Recovery and evacuation for cableway installations for?

BS EN 1909 on recovery and evacuation for cableway installations is relevant to:

• Manufacturers of cableway and related components
• Test centers
• Personnel, operators, and staff
• Regulatory bodies

Why should you use BS EN 1909 - Recovery and evacuation for cableway installations?

All cableways shall be designed, constructed, and operated in such a way that, in the event of an extended stoppage, it is possible to inform the passengers quickly and to ensure their return to safety within a reasonable time, without compromising their safety or the safety of the evacuation personnel.

BS EN 1909 guideline assists you with general requirements on principles, general requirements for recovery and evacuation, requirements for informing the passengers, requirements for the recovery of the carriers, requirements for evacuation of the passengers, and training and instruction of the evacuation personnel for cableway installations designed to carry persons.

This supports by improving the safety measures for cableway used for carrying person, and make it possible to recover the carriers as easily as possible so that evacuation of the passengers is only necessary in exceptional cases.

What’s changed since the last update?

BS EN 1909:2017 supersedes EN 1909:2004, which is withdrawn. BS EN 1909:2017 has made some technical changes compared to EN 1909:2004. These include:

• For Subclause 5.2.2 Danger factors: the factor “incompetence, unfitness, inattention or failure of those involved in evacuation operations” has been replaced by “human failure”
• For Subclause 7.2 Transmission of information: addition of a requirement if landline telephones are used in tunnels
• For numbered entry 9.1.6: addition of a recommendation concerning the management of lighting and the precautions to be taken against fire
• For Subclause 9.6.3: Use of helicopters: change of approach. The previous version of the standard defined precisely the methods and resources to be implemented (which did not always correspond to field practices). The new version of the standard only indicates the need for prior consultation between the cableway operator and the organization responsible for the helicopter
• For Annex ZA (informative), Relationship between this European Standard and the Essential requirements of EU Directive 2000/9/EC relating to cableway installations designed to carry persons: addition of two essential requirements of the Directive (4.4 and 7.3.2) given Clause 9