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Under the background of economic globalization, more and more car-builders not only supply railway vehicles to domestic market, but also actively bidding international projects and deliver products all over the world. The railway vehicle design standards are significantly different throughout the world. Using carbody system as example, the popular standards include European standard system (EN), British standard GM/RT 2100, International Union of Railways (UIC) standard system, US standard system (AAR/APTA/ASME) and Japanese standard system (JIS). In addition, some country’s standard might have special requirement based on local conditions and culture. These various standards will inevitably present different carbody design requirements. Among the above standards, EN and US standards are applicable to Europe, China, and America, which are largest railway vehicle markets in the world. This paper will introduce the history and characteristics of the mainstream rail vehicle standards worldwide and analyze the relationship between standard and vehicle design. Light Rail Vehicle (LRV), subway and commuter rail vehicle (multi-level vehicle) are selected as typical examples for the interpretation and application of US standard and EN standard separately. The 3 major requirements of carbody design, including static strength, fatigue strength and crashworthiness, are compared between US and EN standards to specify the general difference as well as the influence on the carbody design, such as material distribution, structure development, which could provide valuable reference for researchers and engineers in the rail vehicle industry to define and design new products more efficiently across different country’s rail standards.