The measures and requirements specified in EN 45545 are intended to protect passengers and staff in railway vehicles in the event of a fire on board. EN 45545 specifies: fire protection measures for railway vehicles; verification methods for these measures. The protection of passengers and staff is essentially based on measures to: prevent fires occurring due to technical faults and due to equipment design or vehicle layout (Part 1, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 7); minimise the possibility of ignition of materials installed on railway vehicles due to accidents or vandalism (Part 1 and Part 2); detect a fire should it occur (Part 6); limit the spread of fire by specification of materials according to their operational categories (Part 2) and by measures for containment (Part 3); minimise the effects of fire in terms of heat, smoke and toxic gases on passengers or staff through the specification of materials installed on railway vehicles (Part 2); control and manage a fire, for example by means of fire detection, suppression and/or emergency shut down (Part 6). The ultimate objective in the event of a fire on board is to allow passengers and staff to evacuate the railway vehicle and reach a place of safety. The present European Standard describes the measures to be taken in the design of the vehicles in the context of the infrastructure on which they operate. It is not within the scope of EN 45545 to describe measures that ensure the preservation of the vehicles in the event of a fire beyond what is required to fulfil the objective to protect passengers and staff. This European Standard is valid for railway vehicles as defined in Clause 3. Freight transportation vehicles are not covered by EN 45545. This part of EN 45545 covers: principal definitions; operation categories; design categories; fire safety objectives; general requirements for fire protection measures and their evaluation of conformity.