European Union Agency for Railways

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

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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

Cant deficiency

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

Cant deficiency

Infrastructure

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1299/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to the ‘infrastructure’ subsystem of the rail system in the European Union

Cant Deficiency used for the basic SSP

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

CAP

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

Capacity

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity allocation

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity bandwidth

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity enhancement plan

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity management

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity model

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity Needs Announcements

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity of shell or shell compartment

International Relations

Convention

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

Capacity strategy

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity supply

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2023

Capacity-enhancement plan

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)

Capture

EU Policy

Decision

Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121 of 6 July 2020 on records management and archives

Car

International Standard

ISO

ISO 3095:2013(en) Acoustics — Railway applications — Measurement of noise emitted by railbound vehicles

Car carrier

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

CARE

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

CARE

Freight

Glossary

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