Skip to main content
ERA Railway Terminology visual v0 featured

ERA Railway Terminology Collection

Last updated: 5 December 2025.

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.

Click here for more information

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 "R" (582)

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

Rail transit

EU Policy

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 5TH EDITION 2019

Rail transport undertaking or Railway undertaking

International Relations

COTIF Document

Uniform Rules concerning the Technical Admission of Railway Material used in International Traffic (ATMF - Appendix G to the Convention) version of 01.11.2023

Rail van

EU Policy

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 5TH EDITION 2019

Rail wagon for intermodal transport

EU Policy

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 5TH EDITION 2019

Rail-related service

SERA_EU Transport

Regulation

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2177 of 22 November 2017 on access to service facilities and rail-related services

Railcar

EU Policy

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 5TH EDITION 2019

Railcar

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

Railcar

International Standard

ISO

ISO/DIS 22575(en) Railway applications — General terms and definitions

Railcar trailer

EU Policy

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 5TH EDITION 2019

RailNetEurope (RNE)

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2025

Railway

EU Policy

Glossary

Eurostat Transport Glossary on web

Railway

EU Policy

Regulation

Regulation (EU) 2018/643 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 April 2018 on rail transport statistics

Railway / rail infrastructure (EU definition)

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2025

Latest release

Railway Collaborative Decision Making (R/CDM)

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2025

Latest release

Railway enterprise

EU Policy

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 5TH EDITION 2019

Railway enterprise-owned wagon

EU Policy

Glossary

Glossary for transport statistics - 5TH EDITION 2019

Railway infrastructure

International Relations

Convention

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

Railway infrastructure

SERA_EU Transport

Directive

Directive 2012/34/EU of the Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area (recast)

Railway Infrastructure

International Relations

COTIF Document

Uniform Rules concerning the Contract of Use of Infrastructure in International Rail Traffic (CUI - Appendix E to the Convention) applicable from 01.07.2015

Railway infrastructure manager

International Relations

Convention

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