Transportation and Transportation Machinery Glossary
The transportation and transportation machinery glossary contains a wide range of key terms, words, and phrases related to transportation and the operation of transports. This glossary provides brief descriptions of the meanings of each term, including the most commonly used acronyms and specialized terms.
Active Transportation: Refers to any means of transportation that relies on self-propelled human power, such as walking, running, skating, bicycling, and rowing.
Air Cargo: Goods transported by air, such as in an airplane.
Airport: A designated place for airports to accommodate aircraft to take off and land. It also includes the buildings, infrastructure, and other facilities required for safe airplane operation.
Automated Guideway Transit: A type of public transportation system that uses computerized control systems, as well as automated and driverless transportation cars, to move passengers or goods on a fixed guidepath.
Aviation: The field of transportation that involves the use of airplanes and other airborne vehicles.
Combined Transport: Refers to the combined use of different modes of transportation to transfer goods, such as rail, road, air, and maritime transport.
Container: A large rigid box made of metal or plastic used for cargo storage and for transferring goods between different modes of transportation.
Coupling: The device used to tow two or more objects together, such as in vehicles, ships, or trains.
Dispatch: The process of planning and organizing transportation activities, from assigning drivers to scheduling routes and shipments.
Ferry: In maritime transport, a motorboat or a ship used for transporting people and goods across water bodies.
Freight: Goods or cargo being transported for commercial purposes.
Ground Transportation: Refers to the movement of people or goods by land, such as by automobile, bus, truck, train, or boat.
Growth Corridor: A geographic area designated to receive increased investment in transportation infrastructure, such as roads, railways, sewers, and telecommunications systems.
Highway: A main road designed for fast, long-distance travel.
Industrial Transportation: Any of a variety of methods used to move raw materials, manufactured goods, and other products in a industrial setting, including trucks, forklifts, overhead conveyors, and railcars.
Infrastructure: The basic physical structures and facilities -- such as roads, bridges, railways, airports, harbors, and public transportation systems -- needed to support economic and social development.
Intermodal Transportation: Refers to transportation of goods and people using two or more transportation modes, such as rail and truck.
Logistics: The planning, organization, and coordination of transportation activities.
Maritime: Refers to transportation activities conducted by ships, such as transporting passengers and cargo by water, as well as other related activities, such as docking and shipbuilding.
Mass Transit: Public transportation services, such as buses, subways, and trains, that carry large numbers of people.
Mode: The different types of transportation services, such as air, ground, or maritime transport.
Multimodal Transport: Refers to the coordination of transport modes, such as air, road, and rail, to provide seamless freight delivery.
Railway: An infrastructure consisting of a series of railway tracks and associated equipment designed for transporting passengers and goods.
Railway Car: A wheeled vehicle designed to be used on railway tracks.
Ramp: A sloped surface that provides an incline between a roadway and a dock, allowing vehicles to transition between the two.
Roadway: A paved, public way open to motorized vehicle traffic, such as a street, highway, or alley.
Shipping: The transport of goods by water.
Shuttle Bus: A bus or minibus that operates on a fixed route between two or more locations.
Specialized Transportation: Refers to the transportation of cargo that requires special methods, equipment, or expertise, such as hazardous material transport, big and heavy goods transport, and time-sensitive shipments.
Terminal: A facility used for the storage and loading of goods, as well as certain other activities related to transportation, such as freight forwarding and brokerage.
Truck: A wheeled motor vehicle usually used to carry goods.
Trucking: Refers to the transport of goods by road, utilizing trucks or trailers.
Tunnel: A large, underground passageway providing a route under a mountain or other obstruction.
Train: A set of coupled railway cars that moves along a railway track.
Urban Transportation: Refers to the transportation of people and goods in crowded urban areas, such as through the use of public transportation, automobile transport, bicycling, and walking.
Warehouse: A building or other storage facility for acquired products and goods, prior to sale or distribution.
Waterway: A navigable body of water, such as a river, canal, or lake, used for transportation of goods.
