Have you ever been confused by specific terms used within your industry? Did you ever wonder, whether you understand the concept in the same way as your counterpart does? 
Elevate your understanding of crucial concepts, and enhance your professional expertise with the Rail Glossary Series. 

The first edition focuses on decoding the term “Unit Train”, which is often used in rail planning.

• Definition:

Unit Train is any self-propelled train, that has a fixed composition of one or more vehicle types for its entire journey. When planning unit trains, rolling stock duties are defined per unit

• Synonyms:

The term has synonyms, such as “Block train”, “Multiple-unit” or “Train set”, which are all referring to the same concept.

• Variations:

Abbreviations, such as “EMU” (electric multiple-unit) or “DMU” (diesel multiple-unit), usually refer to the same concept of Unit Train, however to a specific variation of it.

• Visuals

In the image below you can see a unit train.

Schematically, the unit train can be represented as follows:

Please share your experiences and rail terms that you would like to see included in the next releases of the Rail Glossary Series in the comments below.