railway
n. countable A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈɹeɪɫˌweɪ// UK //ɹˈeɪlweɪ// rail·way
n. a track with steel rails that trains travel on. It also includes the whole system of trains, tracks, and stations.
n. a permanent track composed of parallel steel rails for the passage of trains. It also encompasses the entire infrastructure and organizational system of rail transport.
The train travels along the railway at high speed.
The city is building a new railway to connect the suburbs with the downtown business district.
The expansion of the national railway during the nineteenth century fundamentally altered the economic landscape by allowing goods to be transported across vast distances in record time.
From rail + way.
Usage
Commonly used in British English; 'railroad' is the standard equivalent in American English.