International Railway Journal - July 2008 - (Page 50)

Train interiors The B fabric of society for furniture calorimeter. The new laboratory has an awesome array of equipment that tests flammability and smoke density, and the spread of flames. A huge hood has been installed for paper cushion tests, and tests are also made on combinations of components, such as textiles with the foam manufactured into the upholstery and carpet with panelling. Lantal also has testing equipment for abrasion resistance (the Martindale test), pilling, pile resistance, light and colour fastness, electrostatic properties, dimensional stability and resistance to tearing. The company boasts that it is now the only weaving mill in Europe to have such sophisticated testing facilities. The entire facility has been certified by the Swiss Federal Railway Authority (EBA) and is authorised to conduct fire tests according to DIN 5510-2. In addition it has the ISO 9001/EN 9100 quality management certificate. Although the laboratory was set to test its own products, Lantal also plans to offer testing services for third parties. Lantal Textiles has 50 years of experience in providing fabrics and advice for the transport industry. For the rail sector, the company spins, dyes and weaves all fabrics to order, as each customer has specific requirements on the colour, pattern, weight and type of fabric. With three production centres and about 400 employees in Switzerland, plus another mill in the United States, Lantal produces velvet pile and flat woven fabrics for seat covers, fabrics for curtains and headrests, leather coverings and carpets. Each stage of production is closely monitored, with every metre of fabric checked for defects. As trained staff in this field are so difficult to find, Lantal trains its own people, and took on 14 new apprentices this year. Lantal aims to offer all-in-one solutions, with the whole train or tram interior being colour-coordinated and designed with great attention to detail Textiles for train interiors have to comply with increasingly stringent safety requirements, while also providing an attractive, comfortable and durable environment for passengers. Anitra Green visits Lantal Textiles, Switzerland, to explore the latest developments in this sector. EFORE any fabric can even be considered for seat coverings, carpets, headrests, wall coverings and any other textile elements in a train interior, it has to be shown to be safe, and preferably hard-wearing. A whole range of tests has been developed over the years to measure the flammability of materials under varying conditions. But, as elsewhere in the railway industry, each country has its own standards and norms. Lantal Textiles, based in Langenthal, Switzerland, already aims to comply with as many of these European standards as possible, with six different norms for Switzerland/Germany/ Netherlands, Austria, Britain, France/ Belgium, Italy and Spain. It also has an eye to the future, and has therefore just opened a new testing laboratory that not only meets most European requirements but is also equipped to meet the new pan-European norm (CEN/TS 45545) due to come into force in 2010. This includes CEN/TS 45545-2 Annex C for gas analysis and ISO 9705-2 Interior of the upper deck of a Zürich S-Bahn train.

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International Railway Journal - July 2008 Contents This Month News Transit News Market News/Technology News News Analysis Conference Report Korean Railways Face a Bright Future Korean Exports Surge Ahead Ready to Roll in China Velaro Shows Eastern Promise Are You Sitting Comfortably? Compin Meets New Challenges The Fabric of Society Grinding Out a Result Rendezvous Full Contact List The Last Word

International Railway Journal - July 2008

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