Glossary
Rail travel glossary
43 terms you will meet when planning a train trip in North America, from Roomette to Park car.
Railroad travel has its own vocabulary, and Amtrak and VIA Rail use different names for similar things. This glossary explains the words used in timetables, booking pages and on board. For the details of sleeping rooms, see Amtrak roomettes and bedrooms and VIA Rail sleeper classes.
- Accessible Bedroom
- A sleeping room designed for passengers using a wheelchair, with an accessible toilet; on Superliner trains it is on the lower level.
- Acela
- Amtrak's fastest train, running between Boston, New York and Washington with Business and First Class only.
- Amtrak
- The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, which has run most US intercity passenger trains since 1971.
- Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Amtrak's loyalty programme, earning points on tickets.
- Bedroom
- Amtrak's larger private room, with a sofa, armchair, two berths and an in-room toilet and shower.
- Business Class
- A premium seating class on many Amtrak and VIA day trains, with more legroom; on VIA it includes a meal.
- Café car
- A car selling snacks, sandwiches and drinks, open to all passengers.
- Coach
- Standard reserved seating; on long distance trains the seats recline deeply and have leg rests.
- Cog railway
- A mountain railway with a toothed rack rail between the running rails, letting trains climb very steep grades.
- Community seating
- The dining car tradition of seating passengers together at shared tables.
- Consist
- Railroad term for the set of cars and locomotives that make up a train.
- Corridor
- A busy route with several trains a day between nearby cities, such as the Northeast Corridor or VIA's Quebec City to Windsor Corridor.
- Dome car
- A passenger car with a raised glass dome for viewing, used on VIA's Canadian and on tour trains.
- Economy
- VIA Rail's standard seating class.
- eTicket
- A ticket stored as a barcode on a phone or printout, scanned by the conductor.
- Family Bedroom
- A Superliner room across the full width of the car that sleeps two adults and two children.
- Flag stop
- A stop where the train halts only if passengers are waiting or have asked to get off.
- Fresh air stop
- A longer station stop where passengers may step out onto the platform; sometimes called a smoke stop.
- Heritage railroad
- A railway preserved or rebuilt to run historic trains, usually for visitors.
- Host railroad
- The company that owns the track a passenger train runs on, often a freight railroad.
- Metropolitan Lounge
- Amtrak's station lounge at major stations for sleeping car and premium passengers.
- Narrow gauge
- Track narrower than standard gauge, often 3 feet in the American West, used on mountain and mining lines.
- Northeast Corridor
- The electrified Amtrak main line between Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington.
- Park car
- The rounded observation car with a dome at the rear of VIA's Canadian.
- Positive Train Control
- A safety system required on most US passenger lines that can stop a train automatically.
- Preclearance
- US border inspection carried out before departure in another country, as for Amtrak Cascades in Vancouver.
- Prestige class
- VIA Rail's top class on the Canadian, with larger cabins and a private shower.
- Quiet Car
- A car on many Amtrak corridor trains where phone calls and loud conversation are not allowed.
- Red Cap
- A station porter at major Amtrak stations who helps with luggage.
- Roomette
- Amtrak's smaller private room with two facing seats that convert into upper and lower berths.
- Schedule padding
- Extra time built into a timetable, often before the final stops, so late trains can recover.
- Siding
- A short parallel track where one train waits for another to pass.
- Sightseer Lounge
- Amtrak's lounge car on Superliner trains with windows that curve up into the roof.
- Sleeper Plus
- VIA Rail's sleeper class with berths and cabins, including meals on long distance trains.
- Standard gauge
- Track 4 feet 8.5 inches between the rails, used by almost all North American main lines.
- State supported route
- An Amtrak route under 750 miles paid for in part by the states it serves.
- Superliner
- Amtrak's bilevel long distance cars, used mostly on western routes.
- Through car
- A car that is moved from one train to another so passengers can continue without changing, as on the Texas Eagle to Los Angeles.
- Thruway
- Amtrak's connecting bus services that extend rail tickets to towns without trains.
- Trails and Rails
- A National Park Service volunteer programme giving talks on some Amtrak trains.
- VIA Rail
- Canada's national passenger rail operator, set up in 1977.
- Viewliner
- Amtrak's single level long distance cars used mostly in the East; Viewliner Roomettes have an in-room toilet.
- Whistle stop
- A small stop where trains call rarely or on request; also used for backcountry stops on the Alaska Railroad.