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
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	International Standard	ISO	ISO/DIS 22575(en) Railway applications — General terms and definitions
Railway infrastructure capital stock	EU Policy	Glossary	Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026	Latest release
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)
Railway infrastructure or Infrastructure	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
Railway Interoperability and Safety Committee (RISC)	Infrastructure	Glossary	European Rail Infrastructure Managers
Railway line	EU Policy	Glossary	Eurostat Transport Glossary on web release November 2024
Railway line	EU Policy	Glossary	Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026	Latest release
Railway location of Operational point	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
Railway location of particular points requiring specific checks	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
Railway location of particular points requiring specific checks	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
Railway location of structures requiring specific checks	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
Railway location of trackside HABD	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
Railway material	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
Railway network	EU Policy	Glossary	Eurostat Transport Glossary on web release November 2024
Railway network statement	EU Policy	Glossary	Glossary for transport statistics - 6TH EDITION 2026	Latest release
Railway operation	International Standard	ISO	ISO/DIS 22575(en) Railway applications — General terms and definitions
Railway system	International Standard	ISO	ISO/DIS 22575(en) Railway applications — General terms and definitions
Railway system	SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor	Directive	Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the certification of train drivers operating locomotives and trains on the railway system in the Community
Railway track	International Standard	ISO	ISO/DIS 22575(en) Railway applications — General terms and definitions

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RNE Glossary
Safety / SSC-SA
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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
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