Great Western Coffee Shop User Forum - Abbreviations and Acronyms
Created 27 December 2021, many revisions subsequently and most recently updated 4 December 2025 by Chris from Nailsea

Originally prepared for the Great Western Coffeeshop by Graham Ellis of Well House Consultants and Well House Manor, with thanks to others who have supplied some of the terms we didn't know!

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@sn12.net or chrishankin4@gmail.com

106 ... Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 - private developer funds for public infrastructure, used to mitigate the impacts of development and support community infrastructure projects like affordable housing, education, and open spaces
121 ... Older generation train - some now being reused
125 ... Main line express trains in use on most long distance Great Western services, from 1970s. Also known as High Speed Trains
142 ... Type of train which was in use on local services from Exeter (now transferred to the north of England and withdrawn late 2020)
143 ... Type of train now predominantly in use on Exeter local services. Withdrawn, December 2020
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 used by London Midland, Chiltern Trains and London Overground
180 ... Main line express trains - "Adelante" - withdrawn from our area in March 2009 but now returning to strengthen Thames Valley/Cotswold Line services
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

A4A ... Access for All
a ... (in timetables) arrival time
AAIB ..... Air Accident Investigation Branch
AAR ..... Association of American Railroads about
AB ... Absolute Block
ABCL ..... Automatic Barrier Crossing Locally monitored
AC ..... Air Conditioning, or Alternating Current (electricity), depending on context
ACoRP ..... Association of Community Rail Partnerships
ADD ..... Automatic Dropping Device
Adelante ... class 180 trains, withdrawn from our area, returning
Adex ..... Advertised Day Excursion train
AFAICS ..... 'as far as I can see'
AFAICT ..... 'as far as I can tell'
AFAIK ..... 'as far as I know'
AFK ..... 'away from keyboard'
AG ... Andrew Griffiths (was Wessex staff, then FGW staff)
AGM .... Annual General Meeting
AH ... Andrew Haines (was senior FGW staff)
AHBC ..... Automatic Half Barrier Crossing
AHBCX ..... Automatic Half Barrier Crossing
AIUI ..... 'as I understand it'
AKA ..... 'also known as'
ALR ..... All Line Rover ticket
AM ... Assembly Member (of the Welsh Parliament)
Angel Trains ... Rolling Stock Company (ROSCO). Owned by a consortium of investors/pension funds
AOC ..... Aeronautical Operational Control, which is communications between an aircraft and ground operators, or possibly All Official and Correct, depending on context
AOCL ..... Automatic Open Crossing (Locally monitored). A level crossing without barriers that is observed by the train crew before they proceed over the crossing
AONB ..... Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
AP ... Any Permitted (fare routing - any route permitted by routing guide)
Apache httpd ... Web server software used on this forum
APC ... Automatic Passenger Count
APCO ..... Automatic Power ChangeOver
APCOA ..... Airport Parking Corporation Of America - an organization founded in Ohio in 1947. Car parking company used at GWR controlled stations in the area
APD ..... Air Passenger Duty
Apex ..... Advanced Purchase Excursion (fare)
APT ..... Advanced Passenger Train
APTIS ..... All Purpose Ticket Issuing System
ARM ... Asset Recovery Manager
ARS ..... Automatic Route Setting
ASC ..... Ashchurch station, or Area Signalling Centre, depending on context
ASDO ..... Automatic Selective Door Operation
ASIC ..... Air Supply Isolating Cock
ASM ..... Assistant Station Master
ASPIC ..... Air Suspension Isolating Cock
ASLEF ..... Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen about
ASP (.asp) ... Active Server Page
ASW ... Air South West
AT ... Automatic Train
ATC ..... Automatic Train Control
ATE ... Assistant Ticket Examiner
ATF ... AutoTransformer Feeder
ATFS ... AutoTransformer Feeder Station
ATM ..... Automated Teller Machine, or 'at the moment', depending on context
ATO ..... Automatic Train Operation
ATOC ..... Association of Train Operating Companies see here
ATP ..... Automatic Train Protection
ATS ..... Automatic Train Supervision, or Auto Transformer Site, depending on context
AV ..... Autonomous (self driving) Vehicle
ATW ..... Arriva Trains Wales (former Train Operating Company)
AWOL .... Absent WithOut Leave
Avantix ..... Ticket Issuing System used on board trains
AVIS ... Automatic Vehicle Inspection System - a Bombardier train inspection system which runs each train entering the depot past a battery of cameras (visible and IR), laser scanners, etc. There will be two of these 'sheds' in the new Old Oak Common Crossrail Depot. Trains will be 'inspected' at a speed of 3mph.
Avocet ..... Branch 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 about
Azuma ..... Brand name for Class 80x trains on LNER

BA .... British Airways about
BA777 ... British Airways 777. The Boeing 777-300 is a long range, twin aisle, twin-engine jet manufactured by Boeing, of which British Airways took part of the design
BASRE ..... Bristol Area Signalling Renewal and Enhancement
BBC .... British Broadcasting Corporation home page
BCC ..... Bristol City Council about
BCK ..... Brake Composite Corridor (carriage)
BCL ..... Brake Composite with Lavatory (carriage)
BCO ..... Brake Composite Open (carriage)
BCR ..... Benefit Cost Ratio
BESS ..... Battery Energy Storage Systems
BEV ..... Battery electric vehicle
B&E ..... Bristol & Exeter railway, or 'breaking & entering' (burglary) depending on context
BF ..... Brake First (carriage)
BFO ..... Brake First Open (carriage)
BG ..... Brake Gangway (carriage)
B&G ..... Bristol and Gloucester Railway
B&H ..... Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury
BH ... This is an alternative to Berks and Hants
BHM ... Birmingham New Street station (not BNS, which is actually Barnes station)
BHX ..... Bank Holiday excepted (on timetables)
BIM ..... Building Information Modeling
BIS ..... Battery Isolating Switch
BKF ..... Brake First Corridor (carriage)
Blog ... A web log
Blood & Custard ... Nickname for livery applied to British Rail coaches in the 1950s / 1960s
BLR ..... Bala Lake Railwaywebsite
BMF ..... Bristol Manor Farm (football club)
BNP ..... Barnstaple station (in the context of the railways)
BNS ..... Barnes station (not Birmingham New Street station) which is actually BHM)
Bobby ... Signalman - railway slang
BoA ..... Bradford-on-Avon station
Bodysnatcher ... Nickname for class 57 as they have the bodies from class 47s
BoJ ..... Break of Journey
Bouncy Castle ... Nickname for Pacers (class 142/143) due to ride characteristics on jointed track
BP ..... Beyond Petroleum (Former name - British Petroleum) home page
BPW ..... Bristol Parkway station
BR ..... British Rail(ways)
BRB ..... British Railways Board, or 'be right back', depending on context
BREL ..... British Rail Engineering Ltd
Brick ... Nickname for class 153, due to their appearance
BRI ..... Bristol Temple Meads station (that is the formal station code - see also BTM), or Bristol Royal Infirmary (hospital), depending on context
BRS ..... Business Rates Supplement
BRSA ..... British Rail Staff Association
BRT ..... Bus Rapid Transit
BRUTE ..... British Rail Universal Trolley Equipment
BSI ..... British Standards Institute
BSK ..... Basingstoke station, or Brake Standard Corridor (carriage), depending on context
BSO ..... Brake Standard Open (carriage)
BSOG ..... Bus Service Operators Grant (a partial refund of fuel duty, enabling operators to provide socially necessary public transport)
BSP ..... Bulk Supply Point
BTET ..... Banned to Electric Traction (when the overhead or third rail is turned off but diesels can still run)
BTH ..... Bath Spa station
BTM ..... Bristol Temple Meads station (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 with buses

C1 ..... (on coaches) National route restriction
CAA ..... Civil Aviation Authority about
CAF ..... Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, Spanish train manufacturer
CANBER ..... Campaign Against the New Beeching Report
Canned ... slang for a cancelled train
CAPE ..... Cancelled At Point of Entry or Cancel All Previous Entries - a cancelled train
CapEx ..... Capital Expenditure
CAPTHCA ..... Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart
CAZ ..... Clean Air Zone
* CBTC ..... Communications-based train control
CBR ..... Cost Benefit Ratio (1/BCR)
CBT ..... Campaign for Better Transport visit
CC41 ..... Utility logo - British Board of Trade requirement from 1941 for 10 years
CCC ... CCC Transportation is a bulk carrier that also offers dry van, intermodal, dedicated fleets, logistics and retail direct delivery. CCGT ..... Combined Cycle Gas Turbine
CCIF ..... Customer and Communities Improvement Fund
CCTV ..... Closed Circuit Tele-Vision
CD ..... Capital Delivery
CDF ..... Cardiff Central station
CDG ... Charles de Gaulle Airport
CDL ..... Central Door Locking
CDM ..... Construction (Design & Management) Regulations
CDR ..... Off Peak Day Return [ticket type] (formerly 'Cheap Day')
CDS ..... Off Peak Day Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Cheap Day')
CDU ..... Cab Display Unit
CEO .... Chief Executive Officer
Cess ..... The outside of the running lines
CET ..... Controlled Emission Toilet
CFN ..... Clifton Down station, or possibly a reference to an administrator on this forum, Chris from Nailsea, depending on context
CFR ..... Chandlers Ford station
CGI .... Computer-Generated Imagery
CIC .... Community Interest Company about
CIE ..... Coras Iompair Eireann - Holding company for Irish transport companies about
CIRAS ..... Confidential Incident Reporting and Analysis System
CIS ..... Customer Information System
CIV ..... International Convention for the transportation of Passengers (lit. Convention Internationale pour le transport des Voyageurs)
CLC ..... Castle Cary station
CLPG ..... Cotswold Line Promotion Group about
CNG ..... Compressed Natural Gas
CNM ..... Cheltenham Spa station
COA ..... Change Of Aspect - railway signalling
CoC ..... Chamber of Commerce
CO2 ... Chemical formula for Carbon Dioxide
Coffin Nail ... Single coach train
COLTA ..... City of Oxford Licenced Taxicab Association
Connectivity ... the ability to travel between two stations or conurbations within an acceptable journey time or frequency options compared to other modes of transport
COSS ..... Controller Of Site Safety. A role which ensures safe practice for work on or near railway tracks
CP4 ..... Control Period 4 - the five year period between 2009 and 2014
CPI ..... Consumer Prices Index - a measure of inflation
CPRE ..... Campaign to Protect Rural England
CP5 ..... Control Period 5 - the five year period between 2014 and 2019
CP6 ..... Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024
CP7 ..... Control Period 7 - The five year period between 2024 and 2029
CPM ..... Chippenham station
CRE ..... Crewe station
CRN ..... Community Rail Network about
Crossrail 2 ... Proposed new railway line serving London and the South East. The scheme could earliest open by 2030
CRP ..... Community Rail Partnership
CRT ..... Canal & River Trust, Critical Rail Temperature or Cathode Ray Tube, depending on context
CS ..... Caledonian Sleeper about or possibly Carriage Sidings, depending on context
CSD ..... Carriage Servicing Depot
CSM ..... Customer Satisfaction Monitor (FGW survey every quarter)
CSR ..... Cab Secure Radio
CSS ..... Cascading Style Sheets
CTA ..... Compulsory Ticket Area
CTRL ..... Channel Tunnel Rail Link, or possibly 'Control', depending on context
CTSA ..... Channel Tunnel Safety Authority about
CUBA ..... Counties that Used to Be Avon
CUI ..... Capacity Utilisation Index
Cummins ... Diesel engine manufacturer
CVR ..... Cockpit Voice Recorder, an item of safety equipment installed on aircraft, in case of problems: it forms part of the so-called 'black box' - which is actually bright orange, to make it easier to recover, in case of need
CW ..... Christian Wolmar (rail journalist)
CWR ..... Continuously Welded Rail
CWU ..... Communication Workers Union website

d ... (in timetables) departure time
D&A ... Design & Access statement
DA ..... District Attorney
DAB ..... Delay Attribution Board
DaFT ..... Department for Transport - critical sounding abbreviation I discourage about
DAG ..... Delay Attribution Guide
dangly bits ... (referring to Over-Head Electrification) is more correctly termed small part steelwork
DAPR ..... Delay Attribution Principles and Rules
DAS ..... Driver Advisory System
DaSTS ..... Delivering a Sustainable Transport System (Department for Transport Strategy)
DB ..... Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway about
DBS ..... Deutsch Bahn Schenker UK website
DBSO ..... Driving Brake Standard Open (carriage)
DC ..... Direct Current
DCC ..... Devon County Council website
DCO ..... Development Consent Order, or Driver Controlled Operation (that is, operation and dispatch of the train solely by the driver even with another member of staff on board), depending on context
DCRP ..... Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership about
DDA ..... Disability Discrimination Act about
Deemed Minutes ... A predetermined value in delay minutes attributed to the cancellation of a train
DEFATO ..... Dual Engine Failure After Take-Off (aircraft)
DEMU ..... Diesel Electric Multiple Unit
DfT ..... Department for Transport about
DID ..... Didcot Parkway
Digital Doris ... Automatic female announcement voice on ex W&W (Wales and West) stations
DKS ..... Door Key Switch
DLM ..... Data Link Modules
DLR ..... Docklands Light Railway
DM ..... Down Main (railway track)
DMH ..... Dilton Marsh Halt
DMS ..... Driving Motor Standard
DMSL ..... Driving Motor Standard Lavatory
DMSO ..... Driving Motor Standard Open
DMU ..... Diesel Multiple Unit
DNO ..... Distribution Network Operator
DNS ..... Domain Name Service (turns a computer's address into something more relevant)
Donkey ... Class 142 train (also "Nodding Donkey")
DOO ..... Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)
Down ... usually, but not always, the direction of travel away from London
DPPP ..... Disabled People's Protection Policy see here
Droplight ... the window you lower to open the carriage door
DRA ..... 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.
DRS ..... Direct Rail Services Ltd, a national rail freight operator providing a range of services with its head office in Carlisle and depots at the South East, York, Crewe, Sellafield, and Scotland. about
DSB_RC ..... Disabled Railcard. about
DSFRS ..... Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service
DSD ..... Driver's Safety Device
DSLR ... Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera
DTS ... Dynamic Track Stabiliser
DVLA ..... Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
DVT ..... Deep Vein Thrombosis (medical condition), or Driving Van Trailer (carriage), depending on context
Dwell time ... the time a train is stationary at a station
DWL ..... Dawlish station

EAL ..... Ealing Broadway station
EAPC ..... Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles webpage
EAS ..... Engineering Access Statement about
EASA ..... European Aviation Safety Agency about
Easement ... The relaxing of a fare rule for a special case
EBS ..... Emergency Bypass Switch
ECML ..... East Coast Main Line
ECMLR ..... East Coast Main Line Railway
ECO ..... Electrical Control Officer
ECS ..... Empty Coaching Stock
EiP ..... Examination in Public
EIS ..... Enters Into Service
EK ..... Economy Klaus (web log)
EKR ..... East Kent Railway website
EL ..... Elizabeth Line - Transport for London line from Reading and Heathrow in the west through central tunnels across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.
ELR ..... East Lancashire Railway, or Engineers Line Reference, depending on context
EMC ..... ElectroMagnetic Compatibility
EMR ..... East Midlands Railway, also known as EMT (East Midlands Trains about
EMS ..... Engine Management System
EMT ..... East Midlands Trains about
EMU ..... Electric Multiple Unit
ENCTS ..... English National Concessionary Travel Scheme. Bus passes for senior/disabled persons
EPB ... Electro Pneumatic Brake. A British Rail Class 415 (or 4EPB) was a suburban 750 V DC third rail electric multiple unit built between 1951 and 1957
EPOS ..... Electronic Point of Sale
ERF ..... Energy Recovery Facility
EROS ..... Emergency Restriction Of Speed (more commonly used term, but see also ESR)
ERTMS ..... European Rail Traffic Management System. A future railway signalling system, with equipment located in the driver's cab, rather than lineside
ESA ... European Space Agency
ESR ..... Emergency Speed Restriction (see also EROS)
ESW ..... Emergency Special Working - an alternative to Temporary Block Working (TBW) which allows trains to be moved more quickly and more safely following a major signalling failure
ETB ..... Electric Token Block
ETCS ..... European Train Control System
ETS ..... Electric Train Supply
EU .... European Union about
Eversholt Rail Group ... Rolling Stock Company (ROSCO) formerly HSBC Rail. Owned by a consortium including Morgan Stanley
EWR ..... East West Railway (Oxford to Bedford), or possibly East Worthing station, depending on context
EWS ..... English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd, now known as DB Schenker Rail (UK)
EXD ..... Exeter St Davids station
Express Sprinter ... Name given to British Rail class 158s
EY ... Ernst & Young inc website

FAA ..... Federal Aviation Administration
FAST ..... Federation Against Software Theft
FAQ ..... Frequently Asked Questions
FAW ... Filton Abbey Wood station
FC ..... First Class, or Fat Controller, or Football Club, depending on context
FCC ..... First Capital Connect
FCO ... Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Now known as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office
FCDO ... Former FCO, now known as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
FDR ..... Forest of Dean Railway, heritage line - or possibly, depending on context, Flight Data Recorder, an item of safety equipment installed on aircraft, in case of problems: it forms part of the so-called 'black box' - which is actually bright orange, to make it easier to recover, in case of need
F&F ... Friends and Family Railcard. (Not to be confused with Tesco´s brand of clothes)
FFS ..... 'for flip's sake' (a more polite definition)
FG1 ..... control key for 'Blue Square' type heritage DMMU's used for switching in the drivers desk
FGW ..... First Great Western
FK ..... First Corridor (carriage)
FLW .... First Late Western (critical term FGW) and a blog (now discontinued)
FO ... First Open (carriage), or (in timetables) Friday only
FOC ..... Freight Operating Company, or possibly 'free of charge', depending on context
Focal ..... Friends of the Atlantic Coast Line [Newquay]
FoI ... Freedom of Information
FOIA ... Freedom Of Information Act 2000
FOR ... (train ticket) First class anytime return
FoSBR ..... Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways site
FOS ... (train ticket) First class anytime single
FOSS ..... Freedom of Severn & Solent rover ticket
FOSW ..... Freedom of (the) South West Rover
Fourfoot ... The space between two running rails (standard gauge)
FPL ..... Facing Point Lock
FPM ..... Freight Performance Measure, expressed as a percentage of trains running on time compared to those scheduled to run
FRGT .... FReiGhT
FRO ..... Frome station
FSB ..... Federation of Small Businesses about
FSO ..... (in timetables) Friday and Saturday only
FSR ..... First Scot Rail
FTN ... Fixed Telecom Network to provide link between trackside and Signalling Control Centre (but also, depending on context, may instead refer to member Four Track, Now!)
FTP ..... File Transfer Protocol
FTPE ..... First TransPennine Express website
FTR ..... Fitness To Run - All locomotives or rolling stock that have been in store and need to be moved by rail need to have a 'fitness to run' test before being moved
FUBAR ..... fouled up beyond all recognition (I have toned down the F word)
FWIW ..... for what it's worth
FX ... (in timetables) Friday excepted
FYI ..... for your information

GA ..... Greater Anglia
GB .... Great Britain
GBR ..... Great British Railways
GBRf ... GB Railfreight website
GBTT ..... Great British Time Table
GC ..... Great Central Railway link to heritage line
GCHQ ... Government Communications HeadQuarters website
GCML ..... Great Central Main Line
GCR ..... Gloucester station
GEML ..... Great Eastern Main Line
GF ..... Ground Frame
GHG ..... Greenhouse gas
GI ... Government Issue. A nickname given to American soldiers during the second world war
gif (.gif) ... Graphic Interchange File
GIGO ... 'garbage in, garbage out'
GKS ..... Guard's Key Switch
GLC ..... Glasgow Central station
GMPTE ..... Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. Now TfGM
GMV ..... Great Malvern station
GNER ..... Great North Eastern Railways
GNN ..... Government News Network about
GOBL ..... Gospel Oak to Barking Line
GOCO ..... Previous name for Go-Op Train -
GOO ..... Guard Only Operation
GOSW ..... Government Offices South West about
GPL ..... Ground Position Light - used in shunting to allow a train to move forward onto a line which may already be occupied
GPO ..... Government Printing Office, or possibly General Post Office - now referred to POT - depending on context
GPRS ..... General Packet Radio Service - e.g. data over mobile phone
GRIP ..... Guide to Railway Investment Projects - Network Rail's process for project management of schemes through development and implementation
Gripper ... Nickname for ticket inspectors, due to their act of 'gripping', or stamping / punching, tickets
GRP ... Glass Reinforced Plastic
GSM-R ..... Global System for Mobile communications - Railway. A simple mobile phone that has been fitted to the turbos to allow them to operate on lines that are not covered by the cab secure radio (CSR). This allows the Network Rail control centre to send simple STOP messages to the driver or the driver to contact the controller in emergency only. When this system is in operation a guard must be provided when in passenger operation.
GTG ..... got to go
GTR .... Govia Thameslink Railway about
GU ..... Generation Unit - Diesel engine plus electric generator
GW .... Great Western - used as an abbreviation for the area / lines under the Great Western franchise, as opposed to FGW which includes "First", the company operating them too. For tickets about
GWEP ..... Great Western Electrification Program
GWML ..... Great Western Main Line
GWR .... Great Western Railway
GWRSA ..... Great Western Railway Staff Association website
GWRUS ..... Great Western Route Utilisation Strategy (a Network Rail document)
GWSR ..... Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway about

H&S ..... Health and Safety
HA ..... Highways Agency
HABD ..... Hot Axle Box Detector
HAZID ..... Hazard Identification study
HAZOP ..... Hazard Operability study
HD ... High Density (configuration of 125 for shorter distances)
HDTH ..... haven't done their homework
Headcode ... train reporting number (usually)
Headway ... the minimum interval possible between trains on a particular section of track
Hector ... affectionate nickname for HM Revenue & Customs (after a bowler-hatted cartoon character they used to use in publicity)
HFC .... Hydrogen-Fuelled Car
HFD ..... Hereford station
HGV ... Heavy Goods Vehicle
Hi-viz ... High Visibilty reflective clothing, worn around railway lines and other operational areas
HLOS ..... High Level Output Specification - the DfT's High Level Output Specification, which has specified to Network Rail the outputs that need to be delivered within a Control Period (CP)
HMG ... His Majesty's Government
HMRI ..... His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate
HO ..... Model Railway, 3.5mm to 1 foot scale
HOBC ..... High Output Ballast Cleaner
HoE ..... Heart of England line
HOTR ..... High Output Track Renewal
HotSW ..... Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership about
HoW ..... Heart of Wessex line (Weymouth - Yeovil - Frome - Westbury) or Heart of Wales line (Swansea - Llanelli - Llandrindod - Craven Arms - Shrewsbury), depending on context
HQ .... HeadQuarters
HR ..... Human Resources
HRC ..... High Rupturing Capacity
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)
HSDT ..... Original name for High Speed Train
HSE ..... Health and Safety Executive
HSM ..... Hand Signal Man
HSS ..... High Speed Services
HST .... High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)
HSTRC ..... High Speed Track Recording Coach
HT ..... Hull Trains
HTML ..... Hypertext Markup Language
HTRWTM5 ..... Heathrow, Terminal 5
httpd ... Web server software used on this forum

IANAL ..... 'I am not a lawyer'. Qualifier given by lay person when expressing legal opinion
IBH ..... Intermediate Block Home - signal to break a long block
IBJ ..... Insulated Block Joint
IBS ..... Intermediate Block Signal - a signal section (normally a distant and stop signal pair) that breaks up a long section, usually between two mechanical signalboxes
IC ..... Inter City train, or Internal Combustion engine, depending on context
ICAO ..... International Civil Aviation Organisation
ICC ..... Integrated Control Centre
ICWC ..... InterCity West Coast
IECC ..... Integrated Electronic Control Centre
IEP ..... Intercity Express Program / Project - replacement for HSTs.
IET ..... Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)
IGBT ..... Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
IIRC ..... 'if I recall/remember/read correctly'
IKB ..... Isambard Kingdom Brunel
ILS .... Instrument Landing System
IME ..... 'in my experience'
IMX ..... 'in my experience'
IMHO ..... 'in my humble opinion'
IMO ..... 'in my opinion'
Intermodal trains ... freight trains which convey traffic which could be conveyed by road, rail or sea (for example, containerised traffic)
IoD ..... Institute of Directors about
IoM ..... Isle of Man
IP ... (as in IP Address) a computer's internet address
IPEMU ..... Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit (train running on batteries)
IRSE ..... Institution of Railway Signal Engineers
IRUG ..... Ivybridge Rail Users Group about
ISTR ..... 'I seem to recall/remember'
IT ... Information Technology
ITA ..... Integrated Transport Authority
ITSO ... ITSO - smartcard online ticketing system
ITT ..... Invitation to Tender
ITV ... Independent TeleVision
IVRS ..... Interim Voice Radio System

Jacobs ... Company who produced reports on which current service level is based
JCN ..... Junction
JFDI ..... 'just flipping do it' (polite version)
jpg (.jpg) ... Joint Photographic Expert Group (picture file format)
JR ... Judicial Review

KISS ..... 'keep it simple, stupid!'
KLM ..... English name: Royal Dutch Airlines - original name: Koninklijke LuchtvaartMaatschappij. website

LA ..... Local Authority
Laira ... Laira, Plymouth (railway depot)
L&B ..... Lynton and Barnstaple Railway about
LC ..... Level Crossing
LCWIP ..... Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan
LD ... Low Density (configuration of 125 for long distance)
LDO ..... Local Door Operation
LDT ..... Long Distance Terminals
LENNON ..... Latest Earnings Nationally Networked Over-Night (allocation of daily fares)
LEP ..... Local Enterprise Partnership about
LEQ ..... Land's End Airport about
LGV ..... Lignes à Grande Vitesse (high speed rail lines) in France, or Large Goods Vehicle in the UK, depending on context
LHCS ..... Locomotive Hauled Coaching Stock
LHS ..... Locomotive Hauled Stock, or 'left hand side', depending on context
LIP ..... Locomotive Inspection Point
LM ..... London Midland - recent franchise
LMD ..... Light Maintenance Depot
LMS ..... London Midland Scottish - 1923 to 1948
LNER ..... London North Eastern Railway about
LNWR ..... London North Western Railway
LOL ..... 'laughing out loud'
LOOU ..... Locked Out Of Use
LOROL ..... London Overground Railway Operations Ltd
LPG .... Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LSL ..... Long Swing Link Bogies (125) or Locomotive Services Ltd, depending on context
LSTF ..... Local Sustainable Transport Fund
LSWR ..... London South Western Railway
LT ... London Transport or Leading Trackman, depending on context
LTA ..... Local Transport Authority
LTN ..... Low Traffic Neighbourhood
LTP ..... Local Transport Plan
LTV ..... London [and] Thames Valley
LUL ..... London Underground Ltd

M ... M usually stands for "M ticket" which is the abbreviation for M Ticket which is an electronic ticket sent to and stored on your smartphone, and only available if you have the Northern app
MAA ..... Moving Annual Average
MAI ..... Maidenhead station
Manual (The) ... Nominally staff only online source for retail information for the rail industry
MARA ..... Master Availability and Reliability Agreement
Marginal Time ... a train timed to run off peak to meet the franchise, not the customer's travel needs
MARI ..... Miniature Alphanumeric Route Indicator, usually associated with a shunting signal or with subsidiary aspects (e.g. Calling On) on a main running signal
MAS ... Chennai Central, officially known as the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central railway station
MBUG ..... Melksham Bus User Group about
MCB-CCTV ..... Manned Controlled Barrier with Closed Circuit Television - railway level crossing
MCB ..... Miniature Circuit Breaker
MCIL ..... Mayor's Community Infrastructure Levy about
MEP ..... Member of European Parliament
MER ..... Manx Electric Railway (Isle of Man)
MEWP ..... Mobile Elevating Working Platform
MF ..... (in timetables) Monday to Friday
MFO ..... (in timetables) Monday and Friday Only
MG11 ..... Form to take a statement for use in court
MK ..... Milton Keynes
MKC ..... Milton Keynes Central
Mk2 ..... Mark 2 coach
MKM ..... Melksham station
MML ..... Midland Main Line. about
MOIRA ... System for modelling rail traffic flows about
MOM ..... Mobile Operations Manager
MP ..... Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context
MPATS ..... Mid Point Auto Transformer Site - electrification
MPC ..... Miles Per Casualty - How many miles a train manages between breakdowns
MPD ..... Motive Power Depot
MR ..... Midland Railway, Modern Railways magazine or Motor Rail, depending on context
MRB ..... Meal Relief Break
MRDG ..... Melksham Railway Development Group about
MRUG ..... Melksham Rail User Group site
MSL ..... Miniature Stop Lights (foot crossing)
MS&L ..... Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
MSO ..... Motor Standard Opens
MSP ..... Member of Scottish Parliament
MTC ..... Melksham Town Council about
MTLS ..... More Train Less Strain
MTR ..... Mass Transit Railway, based in Hong Kong
MTU ..... Motor Traction Unit
MTUG ..... Melksham Transport User Group site
MU ..... Multiple Unit
MWPC ..... Melksham Without Parish Council see here
MYB ..... London (Marylebone)
MySQL ... the database software this web site uses
Mystex ..... Train on which passengers don't know where they are going

NBfL ..... New Bus for London, officially known as the New Routemaster. Aka Borisbus
NBY ..... Newbury next trains
NCN4 ..... National Cycle Network route nr 4 website
NDA ..... Non-Disclosure Agreement
NDRUG ..... North Devon Rail Users Group
NEC ..... National Exhibition Centre about
NEX ..... National Express - parent company of Wessex Trains
NFM ..... National Fares Manual
NG .... Natural Gas
NLC ..... National Location Code
NLL ..... North London line
NLS ..... Nailsea & Backwell station
NPR ..... Northern Powerhouse Rail
NPS ..... National Passenger Survey
NPT ..... Newport (South Wales) station
NQY ..... Newquay station
NR .... Network Rail home page
NRCoC ..... National Rail Conditions of Carriage
NRCoT ... National Rail Conditions of Travel - view
NRE ..... National Rail Enquiries
NRES ..... National Rail Enquiry Service
NRI ... National Incident Report
NRM ..... National Railway Museum, at York and Shildon about
NRN ..... National Radio Network (as used outside the wider London area where CSR predominates)
NRPS ..... Numerical Rating Pain Score (patient discomfort scale)
NRT ..... National Rail Timetable, or Network Rail Telecoms, depending on context
NRW ..... Network Rail Western about or Natural Resources Wales, depending on context
NSAR ..... National Skills Academy for Rail website
NSE ..... Network South East
NSIP ... National Stations Investment Programme
NTA ..... Newton Abbott station
NTC ..... New Track Construction
NUR ..... National Union of Railwaymen
NXEA ..... National Express East Anglia
NXEC ..... National Express East Coast
NXGW ..... National Express Great Western - a bidder for 2013 franchise
NX panel ... Entrance-Exit. On the signaller's illuminated diagram of the railway, there's a button next to each signal. He presses the button at one signal, then the button at the next signal, and the route between them sets if it's safe to do so. The points in the route then swing to the direction required; once they've all moved to the correct position, and all the track sections between the two signals are clear of trains, (and a bit more besides - called the overlap), and lots of other checks-n-tests, then the signal at the entrance of the route can change from red to a "proceed" aspect - yellow, double-yellow, or green.
NYMR ..... North Yorkshire Moors Railway - heritage line

OCC ..... Oxfordshire County Council
OCGT ..... Open Cycle Gas Turbine
OCR ..... Overhead Condition Renewals team
OCS ..... One Control Switch
OED ..... Oxford English Dictionary
OEIS ..... One Engine In Steam
OEO ..... One Engine Only (class 43 HSTs with problems), or Oxford Evening Out (ticket), depending on context
OHE ..... Over-Head Electrification
OHLE ..... Over-Head Line Equipment (electrification via catenary)
OHL ..... Over-Head Line
OJP ..... Online Journey Planner
OLE ..... Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE"
OLEMI ..... Overhead Line Equipment Master Index
OMG ..... Oh My doG - Teenage expression of mock surprise, normally used in social media posts
OMO ..... One Man Operated - formerly used on buses)
One under ... London Underground term for someone being struck by, or falling under, a train
ONS ..... Office for National Statistics website
OO ..... (Double O) - model railway, 4mm to 1 foot scale
OOC ..... Old Oak Common (depot)
OOS ..... Out Of Service
OOU ..... Out Of Use
OP ..... Original Poster / topic starter, or Off Peak, depending on context
OpEx ..... Operational Expenditure
ORCATS ..... Operational Research Computerised Allocation of Tickets to Services
ORN ..... Overlay Radio Network
ORR ..... Office of Rail and Road, formerly Office of Rail Regulation about
OS ..... Ordnance Survey
OTA ..... Over The Air
OTC ... Forum member onthecushions
OTD ..... On This Day
OTDIH ..... On This Day In History
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
OTOH ..... 'on the other hand'
OTT ..... Open Train Times website, or possibly 'over the top', depending on context
OWW ..... Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton
OXF ..... Oxford station
Oyster .... Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services

PA ..... Public Address (broadcast loudspeaker announcements) or Passenger Assist (railway staff providing physical assistance to passengers with mobility issues), depending on context
PAC ..... Public Accounts Committee website
PACE ..... Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984about
PAYG ... Pay As You Go
PCC ..... Plymouth City Council, or Police and Crime Commissioner, depending on context
PAD ..... Paddington (London) station
Parly ... A "Parliamentary" or minimal train service, operated to avoid the legal closure process: usually at a very infrequent level
Passcom ... Passenger Communication - the emergency handle, communication chord or chain
PAO ..... Passenger / As Ordered. Traincrew travelling before/after working a service
Pax ..... Passengers
pax ..... passengers
P&C ..... Points and Crossings - a railway signalling term, or 'Private & Confidential', depending on context
P&R ..... Park and Ride
PBT ..... Post Brunel Technology. The railway always finds this tricky
PC ... Power Car
PCE ... Pembroke Coast Express
pdf (.pdf) ... portable document format
PDFH ... Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook
PERTIS ..... Permit to travel
PF ..... Penalty Fare
PHP ... The programming language used on this web site
PICOP ..... Person In Charge Of Possession (for railway engineering work)
PIDD ..... Passenger Information During Disruption
PILOT ... Person In Lieu Of Token
PIS ..... Passenger Information System
PITA ..... 'pain in the a**e'
PIXC ... Passengers In Excess of Capacity
PLTR ..... Plain Line Track Renewal
PLY ..... Plymouth station
pm ... personal message
PMH ..... Portsmouth Harbour station
PM10 ..... Particulate Matter with a size under 10 microns
PRM ..... Persons with Reduced Mobility
PMSL ..... 'I found that most hilarious'
PMSO ..... Pantograph Motor Standard Opens
PNB ..... Personal Needs Break
POETS ..... As in "Poets day". Friday. (Push 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.
POT ..... Post Office Telecommunications
POTUS .... President Of The United States
Porterbrook ... Rolling Stock Company (ROSCO). Owned by a consortium which includes Deutsche Bank
POW ..... Prisoner Of War
PPE ..... Personal Protective Equipment - safety wear
PPM ..... Parry People Mover, or Pence Per Mile, or Public Performance Measure - depending on context
PR ..... Public Relations
PRIDE ..... Possession Resource Information Database
PRR ..... Princes Risborough station
PSB ..... Power Signal Box
PSR ..... Permanent Speed Restriction
PSS ..... Provincial Sector Services (aka Regional Railways, in the latter years of BR)
PTA ..... Passenger Transport Authority
PTE ..... Passenger Transport Executive
PTS ..... Personal Track Safety
PTT ..... Public Time-Table
PU ..... stops to Pick Up only
PV ... Photovoltaic. (PV) just essentially stands for electricity from the energy of the sun and comes from the words “photo” with the Greek meaning light and “voltaic” meaning voltage.
PW .... Permanent Way - the railway track

QA .... Quality Assurance
QAR ..... Quick Access Recorder
QR .... QR Code - Quick Response code (2D bar code)
Quail ... Track diagrams by TRACKmaps
QUANGO ..... Quasi Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation - typically a non-accountable unelected group of self-opinionated experts either helping government formulate and deliver policy, or lining their own pockets.
RAB ..... Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash
RAF .... Royal Air Force
RAIB ..... Rail Accident Investigation Branch
RAG ..... Red, Amber, Green (as in traffic light signals), or Radstock Action Group, depending on context
RAT ..... Ram Air Turbine
RAVERS ..... Rail Vehicle Reporting System. Used by rail staff to report defects in rolling stock
RBC ..... Reading Borough Council, or Radio Block Centre, depending on context
RDA ..... Regional Development Agency
RDG ..... Rail Delivery Group, or Reading station, depending on context
RE .... Religious Education
Recovery time ... extra time in schedule to allow for late running
REGO ..... Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin
RENFE ..... Spanish National Railways (Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Espanoles)
RER C ... Commuter train route. The RER C is one of the five lines in the RER system serving Paris, France.
RETB ..... Radio Electronic Token Block - a modern development of electronic token block signalling in which 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.
RF ... RailFuture Website
RHTT ..... Rail Head Treatment Train
RIBA ..... Royal Institute of British Architects about
Right-away ... Term used to inform the train driver that it is safe to proceed
RIO ..... Rail Incident Officer - the nominated and certificated person charged with the role of on-site command and control of all rail related organisations and their support at an incident involving train operations, lines or sidings
RNIB ..... Royal National Institute for the Blind about
RMT ..... National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers
RNLI ..... Royal National Lifeboat Institution website
Road ... In railway terms, the track, or route
ROC ..... Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region
ROCS ..... Rigid Overhead Conductor System
ROM ..... Romsey station
RORA ..... Regulation of Railways Act 1889
ROSCO ..... ROlling Stock COmpany about
RP ..... Revenue Protection, or Responsible Person, depending on context
RPI ..... Revenue Protection Inspector, or Retail Price Index, depending on context
RQ ..... runs if required
RRB ..... Rail Replacement Bus
RRAP ..... Road Rail Access Point
RRV ..... Road Rail Vehicle (for example, JCB-type diggers adapted for use also on rails)
RSA ..... Rolled Steel Angles, or Republic of South Africa, depending on context
RSAR ... End-of-train devices
RSJ .... Rolled Steel Joist, which can also be called "I beams" because of the profile of a standard beam
RSS ..... Regional Spatial Strategy
RSSB ..... Rail Safety and Standards Board
RS232 ... Recommended Standard 232. This is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data in telecommunication
RTC ..... Railway Technical Centre about
RTE ..... Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Irish Broadcaster website or Release Train Engineer, depending on context
RTFM ..... Read The Flipping Manual (a more polite definition!)
RTI ..... Real Time Information (displays)
RTM ..... (and RTFM) Read The Manual!
RTT ..... Real Time Trains website
RUCC ..... Rail Users Consultative Committee about
RUG ..... Rail User Group about
RUS ..... Route Utilisation Strategy
RYR ..... Restoring Your Railway
RYRF ..... Restoring Your Railway Fund

s ... (in timetables) stops to set down only
S&C ..... Settle and Carlisle - a local rail line, or Switch and Crossings - a railway signalling term, depending on context
S&D ..... Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
S&DJR ..... Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
S&T ..... Signalling and Telegraph
SARI ... Standard Alphanumeric Route Indicator, usually associated with a main running aspect on a main signal
SATS ..... Signal And Testing Simulation, or Sectioning Auto Transformer Site, depending on context
SB ..... Signal Box
SCADA ..... System Control And Data Acquisition, the 'generic' term used for the telemetry control from the Electrical Control Room
SCC ..... Signalling Control Centre, or Somerset County Council, depending on context
SCWID ..... Safety Critical Work Identity (card)
SD ... (in timetables) stops to Set Down only, or Secure Digital (memory card for camera), depending on context
SDC ... Stroud District Council
SDO ..... Selective Door Operation
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
SENRUG ... South East Northumberland Rail User Group website
SEO ..... Search Engine Optimisation - web site work to make your site more visible
SERA ..... Standardised European Rules of the Air
SET ..... Super Express Train (now IET)
SETI ..... Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence
SFO ... Station Facility Owner
SHR ..... Shrewsbury station
SILK ..... Stranded Individual Location Known. A system for purchasing a ticket at one station for issue at another where a person is stranded
SIO ..... Station Incident Officer - the person appointed by a Station Operating Company as their lead representative at an incident/accident centred at a station premises
Sixfoot ... Space between two running lines (standard gauge)
Skate ... A wheelskate, or wheel skate, is a device used to lift a damaged rail wheel and enable it to slide again so the train can be moved for repairs
SLC ..... Service Level Commitment, or possibly SLC Rail (a consultancy firm), depending on context
SMF ..... Simple Machines Forum - The software we use on this site
SMIS ..... Safety Management Information System - a database of incidents occurring on the national railway network, managed on behalf of the railway industry by the RSSB
SMT ..... Special Measurement Train
SNAFU ..... Situation Normal: All Fouled Up (I have toned down the F word)
SNCF ..... Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais - French National Railways
SNTB ..... Sub-National Transport Board
SO ... Standard Open (carriage) or (in timetables) Saturday Only, depending on context
SOP ..... Super Off Peak ticket, or Standard Operating Procedure instructions, depending on context
SOR ... Anytime Return [ticket type] (formerly 'Standard Open Return')
SOS ... Anytime Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Standard Open Single'), or possibly Secretary of State, depending on context
SPAD ..... Signal Passed At Danger - very bad!
SPAM ..... unsolicited advertising emails or forum posts, usually sent out in bulk
SPM ..... St Philip's Marsh (Bristol depot)
SPS ..... Swindon Panel Society website, or Small Part Steel, depending on context
SPT ..... Signal Post Telephone
sql ... Structured Query Language (for databases)
SR ..... Southern Railway / Southern Region / Scot Rail / Scottish Region (rather confusing - it depends on the context)
SRA ..... Strategic Rail Authority about
SRB ..... Short Rest Break
SRO ..... Standing Room Only
SRUG ..... Saltash Rail Users Group
SSA ... Station Security Accreditation
SSC ..... Signal Siting Committee
SSE ..... Scottish and Southern Energy website, or possibly SSE (Permanent Way) is a supervisor in Civil Engineering, depending on context
SSEN ..... Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks website
SSF ... Signal Siting Form
SSI ..... Solid State Interlocking
SSL ..... Short Swing Link bogies (125)
SSO ..... Special Stop Order - instruction to make additional stops
SSR ... Super Off Peak Return [ticket type] (formerly 'SuperSaver')
SSS ... Super Off Peak Single [ticket type] (formerly 'SuperSaver'), or possibly Synchro Self Shifting, depending on context
SSTC ..... Strategically Significant Towns and Cities
Stanox ..... Station Number (5 digit code)
STAG ..... Severn Tunnel Action Group
STJ ..... Severn Tunnel Junction railway station
STOL .... Short Take Off and Landing
STOR ..... Short-Term Operational Reserve
STP ..... London St Pancras International (very large railway station, run by Network Rail), or Short Term Plan timetable (which comes into play for engineering works), depending on context
STT ..... Save the Train
SuO ..... (in timetables) Sunday only
SVR ... Off Peak Return [ticket type] (formerly 'Saver') or Severn Valley Railway about, depending on the context
SVS ... Off Peak Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Saver')
SWA ..... Swansea station
SWI ..... Swindon station
SWL ..... South Wales Line
SWMBO ..... She Who Must Be Obeyed (affectionate term for wife or female partner)
SWML ..... South Western Main Line
SWP ..... Safe Work Pack. A plan to ensure a safe system of work is in place before track work begins
SWPTUF ..... South West Passenger Transport User's Forum (now TWSW - Travel Watch South West)
SWRDA ..... South West Regional Development Agency about
SWRS ..... Slough and Windsor Railway Society about
SWR ..... South Western Railway about
SWT ..... South West Trains
SWTSMBO ..... She Who Thinks She Must Be Obeyed (affectionate term for wife or female partner)
SX ... (in timetables) Saturday excepted

T2000 ..... Transport 2000 (now Campaign for Better Transport)
TAA ... Track Access Agreement
TAC ..... Track Access Contract - between Network Rail and First Great Western
TARA ..... Train Availability and Reliability Agreement
Tarka ..... Branch line from Barnstaple to Exeter
TAU ..... Taunton station
TBF .... 'to be fair'
TBH ..... 'to be honest'
TBS ..... Tokenless Block System
TBW ..... Temporary Block Working
TC ..... Train Crew, or Travelling Chef, depending on context
TCA ..... Track Circuit Actuator
TCB ..... Track Circuit Block
TCF ..... Track Circuit Failure
TD ... Transport Direct
TDNS ..... Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy
TEE ..... Trans Europe Express
Tenfoot ... Space between two pairs of running lines (standard gauge)
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)
TfC ..... Transport for Cornwall about
TfGM ..... Transport for Greater Manchester. Devolved body responsible for public transport coordination in the Greater Manchester metropolitan area.
TfL ..... Transport for London about
TFM ..... Trackside Functional Modules - control signal lamps and points
TfW ..... Transport for Wales
TGA ..... Traction Gel Application (equipment used in winter)
TGM ..... Teignmouth station
TGS ... Trailer Guard Standard (Mark 3 coach type)
TGV ..... Train a Grande Vitesse
Third rail ... Conductor rail which supplies power to the train
Thunderbird ... Rescue train about
TIA ..... 'thanks in advance'
TIC ..... Tourist Information Centre
TIF ..... Transport Innovation Fund
TIIS ..... Train Infrastructure Interface Program
Tiploc ..... Timing Point Location
TIR ..... Travel Irregularity Report
TIS ..... Ticket Issuing System, or Traction Interlock Switch, depending on context
TLA ..... three letter acronym
TLC ..... three letter code, or tender loving care, depending on context
TLD ..... Top Level Domain (e.g. .info, .uk)
TLDR ..... 'too long - didn't read'
TM ..... Train Manager, or Ticket Machine, or Temple Meads (Bristol), depending on context
TMD ..... Traction Maintenance Depot
TME ..... Track Maintenance Engineer
TNO ..... Transmission Network Operator
TOC ..... Train Operating Company
TOL ..... Tram Operations Limited website
TOLO ..... Train Operator Liaison Officer - the person appointed by a Train (or Freight) Operating Company as their lead representative at an accident site
TOPS ..... Total Operations Processing System
TOT ..... Totnes station
TPD ..... trains per day
TPE ..... Trans Pennine Express
tph ..... trains per hour
TPO ..... Travelling Post Office
TPR ..... The Pensions Regulator
TPTB ..... 'the powers that be'
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)
TRO ..... Trowbridge station
TRSMD ..... Traction & Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot
TRTS ..... Train Ready To Start. A plunger/switch pressed by platform dispatch staff that informs the signaller that a train is ready to depart.
TRUB ..... trailer, restaurant, unclassified, buffet (carriage)
TRUK ..... trailer, restaurant, unclassified, kitchen (carriage)
TRUST ..... Train Running System TOPS
TS ... Trailer Standard (Mark 3 coach type)
TSA ..... Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. The TSA sets out the various arrangements between the train operators relating to the carriage of passengers and the retailing of tickets.
TSD ... Trailer Standard Disabled (Mark 3 coach type)
TSGN ... Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise
TSI ... Turbocharged Stratified Injection, or Technical Specifications for Interoperability, depending on context
TSL ..... Temporary Speed Limit
TSM ..... Track Section Manager
TSO ..... The Stationary Office (now OPSI), or, possibly Trailer Standard Open (carriage), depending on context
TSP ..... Train Service Provider
TSR ..... Temporary Speed Restriction
TSS ..... Traction Sub Station
TSSA ..... Transport Salaried Staffs' Association about
TT ... Time Table
TTBOMK ..... 'to the best of my knowledge'
TTYL ..... 'talk to you later'
TUI ..... Touristik Union International. Also known as TUI Group - "the largest travel, tourism and leisure company in the world". website
TUPE ..... The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. In a railway context, the legislation that protects rail staff when a franchise changes hands.
Turbo ..... Class 165 and 166 trains used on Thames Valley services
TV ..... Thames Valley, or TeleVision, depending on context
TVM ..... Ticket Vending Machine
TVR ..... Tarka Valley Railway (heritage line in Devon) website
TVSC ..... Thames Valley Signalling Centre about
TWA ..... Transport and Works Act 1992
TWAO ..... Transport and Works Act Order - a Statutory Instrument under the Transport & Works Act 1992 which gives the powers required for a particular railway project to proceed
TWCIC ..... TransWilts Community Interest Company see here
TWCRP ..... TransWilts Community Rail Partnership about
TWNW ..... TravelWatch NorthWest
TWSW ..... TravelWatch SouthWest website
TWY ..... Twyford station

u ... (in timetables) stops to pick up only
UEG ..... Unit End Gangway
UFN ..... Unpaid Fare Notice, or 'until further notice', depending on context
UHF ... Ultra High Frequency - commonly used for televisions
UK .... United Kingdom
UPFN ..... Un Paid Fare Notice (used on XC)
USAF ..... United States Air Force. The Boeing C-40 Clipper is a military version of the Boeing 737-700C airline transport. The name comes from the fact that it is used by both the United States Navy and the United States Air Force
UTX ..... Under Track Crossing - engineering work involving cables, pipes, etc.
UWC ..... User Worked Crossing - a level crossing where the barriers or gates are operated by the user
UXB ..... Uxbridge station, or possibly Un-eXploded Bomb (generally a relic from the Second World War), depending on context

VAT .... Value Added Tax
VCB ..... Vacuum Circuit Breaker - electrification
VED ..... Vehicle Excise Duty (also commonly known as 'car tax' or 'road tax')
VFD ..... Variable Frequency Drive
VfM ... Value for Money
Vl-Vt ... Voltage longitudinal - Voltage transverse
VMFL ..... Vehicle Mounted Flange Lubricaters
VSOE ..... Venice Simplon Orient Express
VSTP ..... Very Short Term Plan timetable - which comes into play during disruption / last minute changes VT ..... Virgin Trains - former franchise (or, possibly, in a France context, Versement Transport - a payroll tax on employers to fund local transport)
VXC ..... Virgin Cross Country - former franchise

WABTEC ..... Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation about
WAG ..... Welsh Assembly Government about
W&S ..... Wrexham and Shropshire (Open Access Operator)
W&W ..... Wales and West - (before Wessex Trains!)
W3C ..... World Wide Web Consortium about
WC .... Wiltshire Council (Unitary Authority), was Wiltshire County Council until March 2009
WCA ..... Wiltshire Climate Alliance
WCC ..... Wiltshire County Council (until March 2009) - now Wiltshire Council
WCML ..... West Coast Main Line
WECA ..... West of England Combined Authority about
Wessex ... Name of franchise which used to run the regional and local trains in the West
WEY ..... Weymouth station
WFH ..... Working From Home
wfh .....working from home
Wheel skate ... A wheelskate, or wheel skate, is a device used to lift a damaged rail wheel and enable it to slide again so the train can be moved for repairs
WHM ..... Well House Manor (where I worked - please excuse advert)
WMN ..... Warminster station
WMR ..... West Midlands Railway website
WMT ..... West Midlands Trains (more correctly, it should be West Midlands Railway)website
WNXX ..... Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes
WOE ..... West of England
WoEML ..... West of England Main Line. The line from Basingstoke to Exeter St Davids via Salisbury and Yeovil Junction
WofEL ..... Also used on the forum for "West of England Line"
WOP ..... Worcestershire Parkway station
WOS ..... Worcester Shrub Hill stationnext trains
WON ..... Weekly Operating Notice (issued to all traincrew. Must be carried at all times). Can also be known as a K2
WRAtH ..... Western Rail Access to Heathrow
WRS ..... Western Route Study - Network Rail's successor to the RUS
WRT ..... 'with regard to'
WS&WR ... Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (GWR main line via Melksham, Westbury and Yeovil to Weymouth)
WSB ..... Westbury station
WSMR ..... Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway
WSR ..... West Somerset Railway - heritage line between Minehead and Bishops Lydeard
WTT ..... Working Time-Table
WWDC ..... West Wiltshire District Council about
WWI ..... World War 1 - 1914 to 1918
WWII ..... World War 2 - 1939 to 1945
WWRUG ..... West Wiltshire Rail Users Group about
WWW ..... World Wide Web
WYSIWYG ..... What You See Is What You Get

x ... (in timetables) stops on request
XC ..... Cross Country Trains (franchise)
XO ..... Crossover. Pair of points that connects two parallel rail lines. Crossovers can be either facing or trailing dependent on direction of travel
XR ..... Crossrail

YMMV ..... Your Method/Mileage May Vary
YTD ..... year to date

Zulu ... Special Train

Contact details

This site is maintained by the team at the Great Western Coffee Shop Forum to whom all queries should be addressed