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
Return circuit	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
Return circuit	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
Return journey	Withdrawn	Application Guide	TAP TSI Annex B.51 Tariff application_guide - version 1.0 of 06/12/2013	Latest release
Return journey	Withdrawn	Application Guide	TAP TSI Annex B.54 Indirect Fulfilment application_guide - version 1.0 of 06/12/2013	Latest release
Return to operation	Entity in Charge of Maintenance	Regulation	Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/779 of 16 May 2019 laying down detailed provisions on a system of certification of entities in charge of maintenance of vehicles pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulation (EU) No 445/2011
Reused large packaging	International Relations	Convention	Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) Appendix C – Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)
Reused large packaging	International Relations	Convention	Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) Appendix C – Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)
Reused packaging	International Relations	Convention	Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) Appendix C – Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID)
Revealed preference	EU Policy	Glossary	The Social Costs of Transport - February 1997
Revenue	EU Policy	Glossary	EU budget glossary - A list of the most common words and useful terms concerning the EU budget
Reverse curve	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
Reverse movement	ERTMS	Technical Document	ERTMS/ETCS - Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations - version : 4.0.0 - date 05/07/2023
Reversing mode	ERTMS	Technical Document	ERTMS/ETCS - Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations - version : 4.0.0 - date 05/07/2023
Review	Freight	Glossary	Transport of dangerous goods. Risks Management Framework. Framework glossary v. 1.0/2018
Review	SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor	ISO	ISO 9000:2015(en) Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary	Latest release
Revocation of authorisation	Vehicles / VA	Decision	Commission Implementing Decision 2011/665/EU of 4 October 2011 on the European register of authorised types of railway vehicles
Revocation of MA	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
Revocation of MA	ERTMS	ERA Technical Document	Technical Document ERTMS Operational Principles and Rules ERA_ERTMS_OPE_AppA_5 / V 5.0 on 09.04.2019
Revocation of movement authority	ERTMS	Technical Document	ERTMS/ETCS - Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations - version : 4.0.0 - date 05/07/2023
Rework	SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor	ISO	ISO 9000:2015(en) Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary	Latest release

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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COTIF Document
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ERA Technical Document
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