ERA Railway Terminology visual v0 featured

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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Disclaimer
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
Signaller	RNE Glossary	Glossary	RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2025
Signalling system	ERTMS	Technical Document	ERTMS/ETCS - Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations - version : 4.0.0 - date 05/07/2023
Signalling system	RNE Glossary	Glossary	RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2025
Signalling system	EU Policy	Glossary	Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026	Latest release
Signatory	EU Policy	Regulation	Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC
Significant accident	Safety / SSC-SA	Directive	Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on railway safety (recast)
Significant accident	Freight	Glossary	Transport of dangerous goods. Risks Management Framework. Framework glossary v. 1.0/2018
Significant cyber threat	Security	Directive	Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS 2 Directive)
Significant damage to rolling stock, track, other installations, or the environment	EU Policy	Glossary	Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026	Latest release
Significant damage to stock, track, other installations or environment	Safety / SSC-SA	Directive	Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on railway safety (recast)
Significant rail accident	EU Policy	Glossary	Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026	Latest release
Signs and information	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)
SIL	Operation	TSI	Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/773 of 16 May 2019 on the technical specification for interoperability relating to the operation and traffic management subsystem of the rail system within the European Union and repealing Decision 2012/757/EU
SIL	ERTMS	Technical Document	ERTMS/ETCS - Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations - version : 4.0.0 - date 05/07/2023
SIL	International Standard	ISO	ISO 22163:2023(en) Railway applications — Railway quality management system — ISO 9001:2015 and specific requirements for application in the railway sector
SIL	SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor	ISO	ISO 22163:2023(en) Railway applications — Railway quality management system — ISO 9001:2015 and specific requirements for application in the railway sector	Latest release
Silo wagon	EU Policy	Glossary	Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026	Latest release
SIMAP	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
Simultaneous use of two means of transport (active mode)/ (passive mode)	Withdrawn	Glossary	Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026	Latest release
Single European Railway Area Committee (SERAC)	Infrastructure	Glossary	European Rail Infrastructure Managers

Common Safety Method
Conformity Assessment
Control-Command and Signalling
Data Protection
Energy
Entity in Charge of Maintenance
ERTMS
EU Policy
Freight
Infrastructure
International Relations
International Standard
Interoperability
Noise
Operation
Persons with Reduced Mobility
Railway Tunnels
Registers
Regulation
RNE Glossary
Safety / SSC-SA
Security
SERA_EU Transport
Single Market Mutual Recognition Conformity Assessment
SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor
Telematics Applications for Passenger and Freight Services
Vehicles / VA
Withdrawn

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