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ERA Railway Terminology Collection

Last updated: 12 March 2026

The ERA Railway Terminology Collection gathers terms and abbreviations that are contained in the EU legal framework for railway, technical documents produced by bodies which are engaged in the development of important evolution in the railway system and other relevant glossaries.

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The file you will get by clicking the "Download the full Terminology" button below is in CSV format. To convert it to a readable Excel file:

1. Download the CSV file
2. Open a blank Excel sheet
3. Go to Data → Get Data from CSV → select the CSV file you just downloaded
4. The Excel file will be generated (without any encoding issues)

Starting with "I" (523)

ERA Railway Terminology Collection is a consultation tool, developed to support the sharing of information through the actors involved in running the Single European Railway Area (SERA). The responsibility for the correctness, completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the information in ERA RTC lays upon the authors of the definitions, as they derive from reference documents having their own preparation and approval flow. Users cannot call ERA liable for the use they make of the content. Please consider that when the collection is exported (.csv) and then printed or converted, it becomes uncontrolled.
Term Context Document Type Origin document

Initiating pair

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2025

Injured person

EU Policy

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026

Latest release

Injury accident

Withdrawn

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026

Latest release

Injury and ill health

SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor

ISO

ISO 45001:2018(en) Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use

Latest release

Inland transport

EU Policy

Glossary

Eurostat Transport Glossary on web release November 2024

Inland transport of dangerous goods

Freight

Glossary

Transport of dangerous goods. Risks Management Framework. Framework glossary v. 1.0/2018

Inland waterway

EU Policy

Glossary

Eurostat Transport Glossary on web release November 2024

Inmarsat

EU Policy

EU Technical Document

Technical document from the Publications Office of the European Union - ‘Style guide’ Coordination Interinstitutional Style Guide - version on 19.04.2022

Inner coupling

Freight

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 321/2013 of 13 March 2013 concerning the technical specification for interoperability relating to the subsystem ‘rolling stock — freight wagons’ of the rail system in the European Union and repealing Decision 2006/861/EC

Inner coupling (also called intermediate coupling)

Vehicles / VA

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1302/2014 of 18 November 2014 concerning a technical specification for interoperability relating to the rolling stock — locomotives and passenger rolling stock subsystem of the rail system in the European Union

Inner packaging

International Relations

Convention

Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) Appendix C – Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)

Inner receptacle

International Relations

Convention

Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) Appendix C – Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)

Inner vessel

International Relations

Convention

Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) Appendix C – Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)

INNORPI

International Standard

EU Technical Document

CEN CENELEC ABBRAVIATION ACRONYM 2025

Innovation

SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor

ISO

ISO 9000:2015(en) Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary

Latest release

Inspection

SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor

ISO

ISO 9000:2015(en) Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary

Latest release

Inspection

Entity in Charge of Maintenance

Certification Scheme

Certification scheme for ECM and outsourced maintenance functions under Regulation (EU) 2019/779

Inspection

International Standard

ISO

ISO/IEC 17020:2012(en) Conformity assessment — Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection

Inspection

Safety / SSC-SA

Application Guide

Application guide for the granting of single safety certificates - Manuscript updated in December 2024

Inspection body

International Relations

Convention

Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) Appendix C – Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)