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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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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:

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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

Safety assessment report

Common Safety Method

Regulation

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 402/2013 of 30 April 2013 on the common safety method for risk evaluation and assessment and repealing Regulation (EC) No 352/2009

Safety authorisation

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

Safety barrier

Freight

Glossary

Handbook of scenarios for assessing major chemical accident risks JRC106029 - Ed. 2017

Safety certificate

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

Safety Certificate

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

Safety certificate (SC)

RNE Glossary

Glossary

RNE Glossary - NS_CID_Glossary_2025

Safety certification body

Common Safety Method

Regulation

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/761 of 16 February 2018 establishing common safety methods for supervision by national safety authorities after the issue of a single safety certificate or a safety authorisation pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulation (EU) No 1077/2012

Safety certification body

SMS Safety Culture Human and Organisational Factor

Regulation

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/762 of 8 March 2018 establishing common safety methods on safety management system requirements pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulations (EU) No 1158/2010 and (EU) No 1169/2010

Safety certification body

Safety / SSC-SA

Regulation

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/763 of 9 April 2018 establishing practical arrangements for issuing single safety certificates to railway undertakings pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 653/2007

Safety chain

Freight

Glossary

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

Safety colour

International Standard

ISO

ISO 3864-1:2011(en) Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 1: Design principles for safety signs and safety markings

Safety colour

International Standard

ISO

ISO 3864-4:2011(en) Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 4: Colorimetric and photometric properties of safety sign materials

Safety critical components

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

Safety culture

Common Safety Method

Application Guide

Safety management system requirements for safety certification or safety authorisation. Version 1.3 Manuscript completed in April 2021

Safety enhancement plan

Common Safety Method

Decision

2009/460/EC: Commission Decision of 5 June 2009 on the adoption of a common safety method for assessment of achievement of safety targets, as referred to in Article 6 of Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document number C(2009) 4246)

Safety function

Freight

Glossary

Handbook of scenarios for assessing major chemical accident risks JRC106029 - Ed. 2017

Safety in Railway Tunnels (SRT) TSI

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

Safety Information

Persons with Reduced Mobility

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1300/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to accessibility of the Union's rail system for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.

Safety Instructions

Persons with Reduced Mobility

TSI

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1300/2014 of 18 November 2014 on the technical specifications for interoperability relating to accessibility of the Union's rail system for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility.

Safety integrity level (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

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