How to say "railway" in Japanese

• 鉄道てつどうJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounRailway as rail transport: the system or industry as a whole. This is the word for talking about train travel or rail transport in general, not the physical rails themselves.
  我々われわれは鉄道てつどう施設しせつの契約けいやくをした。↗

  We were contracted to build a railway.
• 線路せんろJLPT N2approx.Common
  nounThe physical track: the rails or line that trains run on. When English railway means the track itself this is the word; for railway as a transport system it is seldom what you want.
  ポーターはしばしば線路せんろを歩あるいて渡わたらなければならない。↗

  Porters often have to walk across the tracks.

Choose 鉄道 for railway as a transport system or industry; use 線路 when railway means the physical track or rails that trains run on, not the system as a whole.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 鉄道てつどうrailroad
• 線路せんろrailway track
• レールウェイrailway
• 鉄路てつろrailroad
• 鉄てつrailway