Amtrak and Railroad Terms and Abbreviations – A to M
Following is a listing of the various terms and abbreviations commonly used at Amtrak Unlimited. These are not necessarily the official terms used in the industry.
A-Train – Dallas area Commuter train
AAF – Brightline (formerly All-Aboard Florida): Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando (future)
AAR - American Association of Railroads
ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act
APTA - American Passenger Transport Association
ARR – Alaska Railroad
AE – Acela Express: higher-speed train service operating between Boston and Washington DC.
AC – Assistant Conductor
Acela Business Class – Seat accommodation with no amenities. Food and beverage available for purchase.
Acela First Class – Seat accommodation with single, pair, and at-table seating, including attendant service. Tray meals and beverages (including alcoholic) are complimentary.
ACS-64 (Amtrak Cities Sprinter) – Electric locomotive used for trains in the Northeast and Keystone corridors, numbered 600-670; introduced in 2014, final delivery in 2016. Other units delivered to SEPTA.
ACSES - Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System: PTC system used in the Northeast US passenger rail network
AE – Acela Express: high-speed train service operating between Boston and Washington DC.
AEM7 – Electric locomotive used for trains in the Northeast and Keystone corridors, numbered 900-953; introduced in 1978. Other units provided to MARC and SEPTA. In the process of being retired. Common nicknames: “toaster” and “meatball.”
Airo - Siemens built next generation semi-permanently coupled fixed consist push-pull rolling stock with diesel or dual powered power head which is slated to replace the Northeast Regional, Cascades, Empire Service and Carolina and Atlantic Coast daytime service, replacing Amfleet Is. Previously known as ICT.
ALC-42 (Amtrak Long distance Charger) - 4200 HP diesel electric locomotive capable of speeds upto 125mph, produced by Siemens primarily for use in the Amtrak long distance network.
ALC-42B (Amtrak Long distance Charger Battery dual mode) - 4200 HP dual mode battery electric and diesel-electric locomotives capable of 125mph for use in the Inter City Trainsets (ICT) or Airo sets in Empire Corridor service.
ALC-42E (Amtrak Long distance Charger Electric dual mode) - 4200 HP dual mode catenary electric and diesel-electric locomotives capable of 125mph for use in the Inter City Trainsets (ICT) or Airo sets.
AT – Auto Train: Passenger train and auto transport service operating between the Washington DC and Orlando FL areas.
BE - Brightline East (Brightline in Florida)
BNSF – BNSF Railway (Burlington Northern Santa Fe)
BW - Brightline West (Brightline in California/Nevada)
CA – Car Attendant or Coach Attendant (officially TA-C, Train Attendant-Coach): Staff member assigned to one or more coach cars to provide for passenger needs.
Cab Car – A passenger car with a train operation cab at one end to permit control of the train when the locomotive is at the rear of the train in “push” mode.
Cabbage – (a combination of cab car and baggage car): A decommissioned diesel locomotive with the engine and other internals removed which functions as a cab car and baggage car for trains in push mode.
Café Car / Cascades Bistro / Superliner Sightseer Lounge – Convenience store style food and beverage service with hot and cold sandwiches, snacks and beverages. Selections are ordered at a counter and seating is first-come, first served. Offerings vary by route ranging from the standardized Amtrak café menu to state-sponsored menus with regional offerings.
CAHSR – California High-Speed Rail: San Francisco to Los Angeles (future)
Caltrain – San Francisco, San Jose area Commuter rail service
CC – Capitol Corridor: California service operating between the Sacramento area and San Jose.
CFRC - Central Florida Rail Corridor (also known as SunRail in Central Florida around Orlando)
Charger – High-speed (125mph) diesel-electric locomotive ordered by several states for Amtrak-operated trains, and also being supplied to MARC, Brightline (Florida), Amtrak and VIA Rail.
CL – Capitol Limited: Operates between Washington DC and Chicago
CN – Canadian National Railway
CNOC - Amtrak's Centralized National Control Center, located in Wilmington DE
Coach – Reclining seat accommodation with no amenities. Food and beverage may be available for purchase depending on the train.
Coaster – San Diego area Commuter service
CONO – City of New Orleans: Operates between Chicago and New Orleans
CP – Canadian Pacific Railway
CR – Conrail (shared operation of CSX and NS)
Cross Country Café (CCC) – Full-service, ordered off menu dining with at-table service. On-board preparation is limited to warming and finishing. Service is available at standard meal times. Sleeper passengers are provided complimentary meals and non-alcoholic beverages.
CS – Coast Starlight: Operates between Seattle and Los Angeles
CSR – Customer Service Representative: phone reservation agent
CSX – CSX Transportation (name possibly derived from Chessie System)
CTA - Chicago Transit Authority, subway system around Chicago
CZ – California Zephyr: Operates between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area
DEIS - Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Denver RTD – Denver Area Light Rail and Commuter system
Diner Lounge – Full-service, ordered off menu dining with at-table service in one section and café service in another section. On-board preparation is limited to warming and finishing. Full meal service is available at standard times. Sleeper passengers are provided complimentary meals and non-alcoholic beverages.
Dining Car - Flex Meals. pre-plated meals heated and delivered to Sleeper accommodation or picked up at a counter for consumption in the Dining Car. Service is available at standard meal times. Sleeper passengers are provided complimentary meals, one complementary alcoholic beverage and non-alcoholic beverages. Not available to Coach passengers. On some trains available for purchase by Business Class passengers.
Dining Car – Traditional full-service meals, ordered off menu dining with at-table service. On-board preparation varies from cook-from-scratch to warming and finishing. Service is available at standard meal times. Sleeper passengers are provided complimentary meals and non-alcoholic beverages.
DMU - Diesel Multiple Unit
DEMU - Diesel Electric Multiple Unit: usually means a diesel multiple unit which has electric transmission and is powered by electric motors rather than through a mechanical or hydraulic gearbox.
EB – Empire Builder: Operates between Chicago and Portland OR and Seattle
EDMU - Electro Diesel Multiple Unit: usually means a dual mode multiple unit which can run either on diesel power or on externally delivered electric power through catenary or third rail, or even battery.
EIS - Environmental Impact Statement
EMU - Electric Multiple Unit
ETT - Employee Time Table
F59 (FF59PHI) - Diesel locomotives in service on California and Cascades routes in the Pacific Northwest: introduced in 1998 and numbered 450-470.
FECR – Florida East Coast Railway
FFGA - Full Funding Grant Agreement
FEIS - Final Environmental Impact Statement
FRA - Federal Railroad Administration: The Federal Agency under Department of Transportation that handles Amtrak
FrontRunner – UTA, Salt Lake City area Commter rail service
FTA - Federal Transit Agency: Federal Transit Agency which handles funding of transit agencies and some funding for Amtrak too.
GDC - Gateway Development Corporation
HHP (HHP8) – Electric locomotive once used for service in Northeast and Keystone Corridors; now retired
HEP - Head End Power, hotel power for the train delivered from the locomotive
HF - Heartland Flier runs between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City
I-ETMS - Interoperable Electronic Train Management System: PTC system used across the US
ICT (Inter City Trainset) - Siemens built semi permanently coupled train sets that are going to replace the entire Amfleet I fleet in the 2024 - 2030. timeframe. See Airo.
KCS – Kansas City Southern Railroad
LAUPT - Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal. Obsolete name for LAUS
LAUS - Los Angeles Union Station, Amtrak code LAX.
LIRR – Long Island Railroad (New York area)
LSA – Lead Service Attendant (food service cars): food and beverage staff member authorized to handle money, stock. Trains equipped with a diner will have two LSAs, one for the diner and one for the café/lounge.
LSL – Lake Shore Limited: Operates between New York, Boston and Chicago
MARC – Maryland Area Regional Commuter (Baltimore, Washington)
MAS - Maximum Allowed Speed
MBTA – Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Commuter Train, Subway, Bus and Light Rail (Boston Area)
Metra – (Metropolitan Rail Corporation) Chicago area Commuter service
MetroLink – Los Angles area Commuter rail service
MLV - Multi Level Vehicle
MNRR – Metro North Railroad (New York area) Commuter rail service
MPS - Maximum Permitted Speed