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ERA Railway Terminology Collection

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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Latest update: 1 May 2025

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:

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Starting with "M" (302)

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

Maximum train deceleration

Infrastructure

Regulation

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/777 of 16 May 2019 on the common specifications for the register of railway infrastructure and repealing Implementing Decision 2014/880/EU

Maximum working pressure (gauge pressure)

International Relations

Convention

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

MAY

Telematics Applications for Freight

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1305/2014 of 11 December 2014 on the technical specification for interoperability relating to the telematics applications for freight subsystem of the rail system in the European Union and repealing the Regulation (EC) No 62/2006

MAY

ERTMS

Technical Document

ERTMS/ETCS - Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations - version : 4.0.0 - date 05/07/2023

MC

International Standard

ISO

ISO 3166 (en) - Online Browsing Platform (OBP) Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country code

MCA

Telematics Applications for Passenger

Application Guide

TAP TSI Annex B.52 Reservation application_guide - version 1.0 of 06/12/2013

MCA

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

MCT

Telematics Applications for Passenger

Application Guide

TAP TSI Annex B.50 Timetable application_guide - version 1.0 of 06/12/2013

MD

International Standard

ISO

ISO 3166 (en) - Online Browsing Platform (OBP) Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country code

MD / IAF MD

Entity in Charge of Maintenance

Certification Scheme

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

MD / IAF MD

Entity in Charge of Maintenance

Application Guide

Guidance on ECM Certification process Guide for the application of Article 14 of Directive (EU) 2016/798 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2019/779 on a system of certification of entities in charge of maintenance for vehicles. Verion 9.0 on 01/03/2021

mdyn

Vehicles / VA

ERA Technical Document

Specifications to perform the assessment of conformity of friction elements for wheel tread brakes (Version 3) Technical document ERA/TD/2013-02/INT Friction elements for wheel tread brakes for freight wagons. V. 3.0, 2015

ME

International Standard

ISO

ISO 3166 (en) - Online Browsing Platform (OBP) Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country code

Mean contact force

Energy

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1301/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to the energy subsystem of the rail system in the Union

Mean contact force (pantograph gauge context)

Energy

Regulation

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1301/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to the energy subsystem of the rail system in the Union

Mean friction coefficient

Vehicles / VA

ERA Technical Document

Specifications to perform the assessment of conformity of friction elements for wheel tread brakes (Version 3) Technical document ERA/TD/2013-02/INT Friction elements for wheel tread brakes for freight wagons. V. 3.0, 2015

Mean useful voltage train

Energy

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1301/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to the energy subsystem of the rail system in the Union

Mean useful voltage zone

Energy

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1301/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to the energy subsystem of the rail system in the Union

Meaning

International Standard

ISO

ISO 7001:2023(en) Graphical symbols — Registered public information symbols

Mechanical characteristics

Interoperability

Decision

Commission Decision of 30 November 2009 on the reference document referred to in Article 27(4) of Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community. (2009/965/EC)