Acronyms and abbreviations used by rail staff, passengers and campaigners on the web site - a mixture of railway terms and web speak - enough to confuse the newcomer! Please email any corrections or additions to graham@wellho.net
106 ... Section 106 - private developer funds for public infrastructure 121 ... Older generation train - some now being reused 125 ... Main line express trains in use on most services, from 1970s 142 ... Type of train in use on local services from Exeter 143 ... Type of train in use on some Bristol local services 150 ... Trains used on slower routes in the West 153 ... Single coach trains intended for lighter loaded services 158 ... Trains used on Regional routes such as Cardiff to Portsmouth 159 ... Trains used by SWT on London to Salisbury and Exeter services 165 ... Trains used on commuter routes (and sometimes beyond) from Paddington 166 ... Trains used on commuter routes (and sometimes beyond) from Paddington 170 ... Turbostar trains (not in FGW area) 172 ... Trains on order for London Midland, Chiltern Trains and London Overground 180 ... Main line express trains - "Adelante" - being withdrawn from our area 1C4W ... 1 Council for Wiltshire - 2009 abolition of district councils 3rd rail ... Electrification via an additional rail, not overhead 47 ... Class of locomotive, largely retired and operating occasional specials 57 ... Class of locomotive used on the Penzance to Paddington Sleeper 67 ... Class of locomotive used on occasions where a contracted extra train is run
a ... (in timetables) arrival time AAR ... Association of American Railroads ACORP ... Association of Community Rail Partnerships Adelante ... class 180 trains being withdrawn around now Adex ... Advertised excursion train AFAICT ... as far as I can tell AFAIK ... as far as I know AG ... Andrew Griffiths AH ... Andrew Haines AIUI ... as I understand it AKA ... also known as AM ... Assembly Member (of the Welsh Parliament) Angel Trains ... Part of Royal Bank of Scotland. Owner of many trains AOCL ... Automatic Open Crossing (Locally monitored) A level crossing without barriers that is observed by the train crew before they proceed over the crossing Apache httpd ... Web server software used on this forum APCOA ... Car parking company at many (most?) stations in the area Apex ... Advanced Purchase Excursion (fare) APT ... Advanced Passenger Train ASLEF ... The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen ASP (.asp) ... Active Server Page ASW ... Air Southwest ATC ... Automatic Train Control ATE ... Assistant Ticket Examiner ATOC ... Association of Train Operating Companies ATP ... Automatic Train Protection ATW ... Arriva Trains Wales Avocet ... Line from Exeter to Exmouth AWS ... Automatic Warning System - an arrangement of permanent magnets and electro-magnets that convey information about the associated signal to the train driver AXC ... Arriva Cross Country
B&H ... Berks and Hants - Reading to Taunton via Westbury BHM ... Birmingham New Street BHX ... Bank Holiday excepted Blog ... A web log BNP ... Barnstaple (in the context of this forum) BNS ... Barnes BoA ... Bradford-on-Avon BPW ... Bristol Parkway BR ... British Rail BRB ... British Railways Board BRI ... Bristol Temple Meads (formal station code - see also BTM) BRT ... Bus Rapid Transit BSO ... Brake Standard Open (carriage) BTM ... Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI, but BTM is a commonly used alternative) BTP ... British Transport Police BTW ... by the way Bubble ... A class 121 train (previous generation, in reuse in Cardiff and Aylesbury) Bustitution ... the practice of replacing trains by buses
C1 ... (on coaches) National route restriction CANBER ... Campaign Against the New Beeching Report Canned ... slang for a cancelled train Caped ... Cancelled At Point of Entry - a cancelled train CAPTHCA ... Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart CBR ... Cost Benefit Ratio CCTV ... Closed Circuit Tele Vision CDF ... Cardiff CDL ... Central Door Locking CDR ... Off Peak Day Return [ticket type] (formerly 'Cheap Day') CDS ... Off Peak Day Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Cheap Day') CIE ... Coras Iompair Eireann - Irish Railways CIRAS ... Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System CIS ... Customer Information System CLPG ... Cotswold Line Passenger Group CoC ... Chamber of Commerce Coffin Nail ... Single coach train COLTA ... City of Oxford Licenced Taxicab Association CSR ... Cab Secure Radio css (.css) ... Cascading Style Sheets CW ... Christian Wolmar (rail journalist) CWR ... Continuously Welded Rail
d ... (in timetables) departure time DaFT ... Department for Transport - critical sounding abbreviation I discourage DaSTS ... Delivering a Sustainable Transport System (Department for Transport Strategy) DB ... Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway DDA ... Disability Discrimination Act DeMU ... Diesel Electric Multiple Unit DfT ... Department for Transport Digital Doris ... Auto anouncer on ex W&W (Wales and West) stations DM ... Dilton Marsh DMU ... Diesel Multiple Unit DNS ... Domain name service (turns a computer's address into something more relevant) Donkey ... Class 142 train (also "Nodding Donkey") DOO ... Driver Only Operation DPPP ... Disabled People's Protection Policy Droplight ... the window you lower to open the carriage door DRU ... Driver's Reminder Appliance - a device in the driving cab of a train that allows the driver to set a reminder when brought to a stand at a signal showing a stop aspect. When set, it prevents the driver applying power and moving off. DSB_RC ... Disabled Railcard DVT ... Driving Van Trailer carriage
Easement ... The relaxing of a fare rule for a special case EBS ... Emergency Bypass Switch ECML ... East Coast Main Line ECS ... Empty Coaching Stock EiP ... Examination in Public EK ... Economy Klaus ELR ... Engineers line reference EMU ... Electric Multiple Unit ERTMS ... European Rail Traffic Management System ESR ... Emergency Speed Restriction ETCS ... European Train Control System EU ... European Union EWS ... English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd EXD ... Exeter St Davids
FAST ... Federation Against Software Theft FAQ ... Frequently Asked Questions FCC ... First Capital Connect FFS ... For goodness' sake FG1 ... control key for 'Blue Square' type heritage DMMU's used for switching in the drivers desk. FGW ... First Great Western FLW ... First Late Western (critical term FGW) and a blog FO ... (in timetables) Friday only Focal ... Friends of the Atlantic Coast Line [Newquay] FOSBR ... Friends Of Suburban Bristol Railways FSB ... Federation of Small Businesses FSO ... (in timetables) Friday and Saturday only FTP ... File Transfer Protocol FWIW ... for what it's worth FX ... (in timetables) Friday excepted FYI ... for your information
GC ... Great Central GCR ... Gloucester GF ... Ground Frame gif (.gif) ... Graphic Interchange File GMPTE ... Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive GNER ... Great North Eastern Railways GNN ... Government News Network GOBL ... Gospel Oak to Barking Line GOSW ... Government Offices South West GRIP ... Guide to Railway Investment Projects GWML ... Great Western Main Line GWR ... Great Western Railway GWRUS ... Great Western Route Urilisation Strategy
H&S ... Health and Safety HA ... Highways Agency HD ... High Density (configuration of 125 for shorter distances) HDTH ... Haven't Done Their Homework Headcode ... train reporting number (usually) Hector ... affectionate nickname for HM Revenue & Customs (after a bowler-hatted cartoon character they used to use in publicity) HMRI ... Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate HR ... Human Resources HS ... High Speed (short for HSS High Speed Services) HS1 ... High Speed line 1 - St Pancras to Channel Tunnel HS2 ... The next High Speed line(s) HSBC ... (as in HSBC Rail) Bank that owns many trains HSE ... Health and Safety Executive HSS ... High Speed Services HST ... High Speed Train (Inter City 125 units) HTML ... Hypertext Markup Language HTRWTM5 ... Heathrow, Terminal 5 httpd ... Web server software used on this forum
IBH ... Intermediate Block Home - signal to break a long block IEP ... Intercity Express Program / Project IIRC ... if I recall/remember/read correctly IKB ... Isambard Kingdom Brunel IMHO ... in my humble opinion IMO ... in my opinion IoD ... Institute of Directors IOM ... Isle of Man IP ... (as in IP Address) a computer's internet address IRUG ... Ivybridge Rail Users Group ISTR ... I seem to recall/remember IT ... Information Technology
Jacobs ... Company who produced reports on which current service level is based JCN ... Junction jpg (.jpg) ... Joint Photographic Expert Group (picture file format)
KISS ... keep it simple, stupid!
Laira ... Laira, Plymouth (Depot) LC ... Level Crossing LD ... Low Density (configuration of 125 for long distance) LENNON ... Latest Earnings Nationally Networked Over-Night (allocation of daily fares) LHCS ... Locomotive Hauled Coaching Stock LHS ... Locomotive Hauled Stock LM ... London Midland - current franchise LMS ... London Midland Scottish - 1923 to 1948 LNER ... London North Eastern Railway LOL ... laughing out loud LOOU ... locked out of use LOROL ... London Overground Railway Operations Ltd LSL ... Long Swing Link Bogies (125) LT ... London Transport LTP ... Local Transport Plan LTV ... or L&TV London [and] Thames Valley
Marginal Time ... a train timed to run off peak to meet the franchise, not the customer's travel needs MEP ... Member of European Parliament MF ... (in timetables) Monday to Friday MFO ... (in timetables) Monday and Friday Only MK ... Milton Keynes Mk2 ... Mark 2 coach MKM ... Melksham MOIRA ... System for modelling rail traffic flows MP ... Member of Parliament MP ... Mile Post MPD ... Motive Power Depot MRB ... Meal Relief Break MRDG ... Melksham Railway Development Group MSP ... Member of Scottish Parliament MTLS ... More Train Less Strain MTU ... Motor Traction Unit MySQL ... the database software this web site uses Mystex ... - Train on which passengers don't know where they are going
NDRUG ... North Devon Rail Users Group NEC ... National Exhibition Centre (by Birmingham International) NEX ... National Express - parent company of Wessex Trains NLC ... National Location Code NR ... Network Rail NRCOC ... National Rail Conditions Of Carriage NRES ... National Rail Enquiry Service NRN ... National Radio Network (as used outside of the wider London area where CSR predominates) NSE ... Network South East
OEIS ... One Engine In Steam OHE ... Over-Head Electrification OHLE ... Over-Head Line Equipment (electrification via catenary) OOC ... Old Oak Common (depot) OOU ... out of use OP ... Original Poster / topic starter OP ... Off Peak ORCATS ... Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Services ORR ... Office of Rail Regulation OS ... Ordnance Survey OTDR ... On Train Data Recorder - a data recorder fitted to traction units collecting information about the performance of the train, including speed, throttle and brake control positions, activations of horn, etc.. OTMR ... On Train Monitoring Recorder OWW ... Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton
PA ... Public Address PAD ... Paddington (London) Parly ... A "Parliamentary" or mimimal train service Passcom ... Passenger communication - the emergency handle, communication chord or chain PAO ... Passenger / As Ordered. Traincrew travelling before/after working a service. P&R ... Park and Ride pdf (.pdf) ... portable document format PERTIS ... Permit to travel PF ... Penalty Fare PHP ... The programming language used on this web site PICOP ... Person In Charge Of Possession PIS ... Passenger Information System pm ... Personal Message PNB ... Personal Needs Break POETS ... As in "Poets day". Friday. (Piss Off Early - Tomorrow's Saturday). PON ... Periodic Operating Notice, (Issued every 2 months, to be carried at all times), also containing updates to Sectional Appendix. Porterbrook ... Part of Abbey National Treasury services. Owner of many trains PPM ... Parry People Mover PPM ... Pence Per Mile PPM ... Public Performance Measure PRIDE ... Possession Resource Information Database PSS ... Provincial Sector Services (aka Regional Railways, in the latter years of BR) PTE ... Passenger Transport Executive PTS ... Personal Track Safety PR ... Public Relations PU ... Stops to Pick up only PW ... Permanent Way
QA ... Quality Assurance
RAIB ... Rail Accident Investigation Branch RAG ... Radstock Action Group RDA ... Regional Development Agency Recovery time ... extra time in schedule to allow for late running RENFE ... Spanish National Railways (Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Espanoles) RETB ... Radio Electronic Token Block - a modern development of electronic token block signalling in wich the token takes the form of an encoded data message transmitted to a receiver on the train. The system ensures that only one train is in possession of any single radio token at one time. RIBA ... Royal Institute of British Architects RNIB ... Royal National Institute for the Blind RMT ... National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers ROSCO ... Rolling Stock Owning Company RPI ... Revenue Protection Inspector RQ ... Runs if Required RSS ... Regional Spatial Strategy RSSB ... Rail Safety and Standards Board RTI ... Real Time Information (displays) RTM ... (and RTFM) Read The Manual RUCC ... Rail Users Consultative Committee RUG ... Rail User Group
RUS / Route Utilisation Strategy
s ... (in timetables) stops to set down only S&T ... Signalling and Telegraph SB ... Signal Box SCWID ... Safety Critical Work Identity (card) SD ... (in timetables) stops to set down only SDO ... Selective Door Opening SDR ... Anytime Day Return [ticket type] (formerly 'Standard Day Return') SDS ... Anytime Day Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Standard Day Single') SELAC ... Salisbury to Exeter Lineside Consortium of Authorities SLC ... Service Level Commitment SMF ... Simple Machines Forum - The software we use on this site SMIS ... Safety Management Information System - a database of incidents occuring on the national railway network, managed on behalf of the railway industry by the RSSB SNCF ... Society National de Chemin de Fer - French National Railways SO ... (in timetables) Saturday Only SO ... Second Open (carriage) SOR ... Anytime Return [ticket type] (formerly 'Standard Open Return') SOS ... Anytime Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Open') SPAD ... Signal Passed At Danger - very bad! SPAM ... unsolicited advertising emails or forum posts, usually send out in bulk SPM ... St Philip's Marsh (Bristol depot) SPT ... Signal Post Telephone sql ... Structured Query Language (for databases) SR ... Southern Railway / Southern Region SR ... Scot Rail / Scottish Region SRA ... Strategic Rail Authority SRB ... Short Rest Break SRUG ... Saltash Rail Users Group SSL ... Short Swing Link Bogies (125) SSR ... Super Off Peak Return [ticket type] (formerly 'SuperSaver') SSS ... Super Off Peak Single [ticket type] (formerly 'SuperSaver') SSTC ... Strategically Significant Towns and Cities Stanox ... Station Number (5 digit code) STAG ... Severn Tunnel Action Group STT ... Save the Train SuO ... (in timetables) Sunday only SVR ... Off Peak Return [ticket type] (formerly 'Saver') SVS ... Off Peak Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Saver') SWL ... South Wales Line SWMBO ... She Who Must Be Obeyed (affectionate term for wife or female partner) SWPTUF ... South West Passenger Transport User's Forum (now TWSW) SWRDA ... South West Regional Development Agency SWT ... South West Trains SX ... (in timetables) Saturday excepted
T2000 ... Transport 2000 (now Campaign for Better Transport) Tarka ... Line from Barnstaple to Exeter TBH ... to be honest TEE ... Trans Europe Express TEP ... Token Exchange Point - a location at which drivers relinquish and acquire electronic tokens in an RETB area TEP ... Train Entry Points (alternative definition) TF ... Trailer First (Mark 3 coach type) TFB ... Trailer First Buffet (Mark 3 coach type) TfL ... Transport for London TGA ... Traction Gel Application (equipment used in winter) TGS ... Trailer Guard Standard (Mark 3 coach type) TGV ... Train a Grande Vitesse TIC ... Tourist Information Centre TIF ... Transport Innovation Fund TIIS ... Train Infrastructure Interface Program Tiploc ... Timing Point Location TIS ... Traction Interlock Switch TLA ... three letter acronym TLC ... three letter code (same as TLA?) TLD ... Top level domain (e.g. .info, .uk) TM ... Train Manager TM ... Temple Meads (Bristol) TOC ... Train Operating Company TOPS ... Total Operations Processing System TPD ... trains per day TPE ... Transpennine Express TPH ... trains per hour TPO ... Travelling Post Office TPWS ... Train Protection and Warning System Train Staff ... A tablet given to driver of all trains working a single line. TransWilts ... Line from Swindon to Westbury and on to Salisbury TRFB ... Trailer Restaurant First Buffet (Mark 3 coach type) TS ... Trailer Standard (Mark 3 coach type) TSD ... Trailer Standard Disabled (Mark 3 coach type) TSO ... The Stationary Office (now OPSI) TSO ... Trailer Second Open (carriage) TSSA ... Transport Salaried Staffs' Association TT ... Time Table TTBOMK ... to the best of my knowledge Turbo ... Class 165 and 166 trains used on Thames Valley services TV ... Thames Valley TVM ... Ticket Vending Machine TWCRP ...Transwilts Community Rail Partnership TWSW ... Travel Watch South West
u ... (in timetables) stops to pick up only UFN ... until further notice UK ... United Kingdom UWC ... User Worked Crossing - a level crossing where the barriers or gates are operated by the user
VAT ... Value Added Tax VFML ... Vehicle Mounted Flange Lubricaters VXC ... Virgin Cross Country - former franchise
W&S ... Wrexham And Shropshire (Open Access Operator) W&W ... Wales and West - (before Wessex Trains!) W3C ... World Wide Web Consortium WC ... Wiltshire Council (Unitary Authority) WCC ... Wiltshire County Council (Until March 2009) WCML ... West Coast Main Line Wessex ... Name of franchise who used to run the regional and local trains in the West WHM ... Well House Manor (where I work - please excuse advert) WON ... Weekly Operating Notice (Issued to all traincrew. Must be carried at all times). Can also be known as a K2 WRT ... With Regard to ... WS&WR ... Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (GWR main line via Melksham, Westbury and Yeovil to Weymouth) WSMR ... Wrexham, Marylebone and Shropshire Railway WWDC ... West Wilts District Council WWRUG ... West Wilts Rail User Group WWW ... World Wide Web WYSIWYG ... What You See Is What You Get
x ... (in timetables) stops on request XC ... Cross Country franchise trains (now run by Arriva) XR ... Crossrail
YTD ... year to date
Zulu ... Special Train
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