Glossary
Subway Operator Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential subway operator terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key subway operator vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in subway operator training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- CBTC
- Communications-based train control.
- Dead man’s switch
- Safety control.
- Door interlock
- Prevents moving with doors open.
- Dwell time
- Time at a station.
- Emergency brake
- Fast stop.
- Headway
- Time between trains.
- Interlocking
- Signal and switch control.
- Overhead catenary
- Overhead power wire.
- Platform
- Station boarding area.
- Pull-out
- Leaving the yard.
- Rail control center
- Dispatch.
- Run
- Assigned trips.
- Seniority
- Ranking by service.
- Signal aspect
- What a signal shows.
- Third rail
- Power rail.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Subway Operator practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Subway Operator training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.