Glossary and definitions

Access rights

Rights to use railway infrastructure with the purpose of granting a company the possibility of operating trains.

Bypass

It is a new rail line that replaces or complements an existing one. Bypasses may be built to avoid difficult crossings, a city, a built-up area, town, etc.

Freight yards

Areas where freight cargo is managed, as it is loaded and unloaded from the trains.

Haulage rights

An agreement where one railroad company carries traffic on its line and on its trains on behalf of another company. The owner of the line receives a fee for providing access to the other company. The main distinction between haulage and trackage rights is the company who operates the trains.

Interchange traffic

Freight cargo that is exchanged from one railroad to another.

Interline traffic

Traffic that originates on one concessionary and terminates on another concessionary. An interline move involves more than one concessionary.

Rail gauges

The minimum perpendicular distance between the inner faces of two rails.

Slots

It is the capacity of a company to use its trains on a specific stretch of track during a given period of time.

Trackage rights

An agreement under which a tenant railroad gets rights from the owner of the track’s rights to provide transportation service over the joint facility and it is the sole responsible for loss or damage of the freight. The tenant pays a fee to compensate the owner for track maintenance, train dispatching, among other expenses.

Trunk lines

Main supply channels, usually handle long-distance traffic.