20 Mar 2026
AS 7521 Interior Crashworthiness
The closing date for comments – Tuesday 19 May 2026
The latest review of AS 7521 Interior Crashworthiness is now open for Public Consultation.
How this product helps the rail industry
This document provides the rail industry with a nationally consistent framework for assessing the risk of passenger injury from secondary impacts. It includes requirements for external interfaces such as windows, doors and gangways, and internal furnishings such as seats, tables, handrails and storage of loose items.
The standard supports greater national consistency by reducing ambiguity, which in turn lowers the compliance burden for operators and suppliers. It promotes best practice by aligning with international standards for preventing passenger injury and for impact testing methodology.
About
The revised AS 7521 introduces several important updates that reflect evolving industry practices and strengthen passenger safety outcomes. The updates include:
- Current best practice in minimising passenger injury, ensuring it remains relevant to modern rolling stock design, materials, and operational contexts.
- Clarification of areas of overlap with AS 7520.3, reducing ambiguity for designers, manufacturers, and operators. This supports more efficient compliance and consistent interpretation across projects.
- Greater emphasis on identifying potential injury and implementing targeted mitigation measures.
- Reinforced need for clear, accessible passenger information regarding emergency egress paths and equipment, improving passenger preparedness and response during incidents.
How to contribute
AS7521 Interior Crashworthiness is available for public consultation for 60 days. All interested parties are encouraged to provide comments during this time.
It is available to download here.
To make comments on the draft, please use the commenting tools in Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to comment in-line with the text. If needed you can find instructions here.
Please return your PDF with comments to fszanto@ariso.org.au by Tuesday 19 May 2026.
As the rail industry’s only accredited Standards Development Organisation (SDO), ARISO collaborates with government, rail operators and industry leaders to improve the efficiency and harmonisation of the Australia’s rail network, ensuring national interoperability, safety and sustainability into the future.