Usage of The Terms Railroad and Railway - Other English-speaking Countries

Other English-speaking Countries

In the United Kingdom the term railroad, also spelled rail road or rail-road, was often used in the early days of the railways, but by about the 1850s railway had become the preferred term, with railroad becoming disused. The use of railway then spread to the British Empire, where it became the preferred term throughout the British Commonwealth.

In Canada the word railroad is used interchangeably with railway - for instance, Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot describes the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Despite that, the term railway is almost invariably used in the official names of Canadian railways (e.g. Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway).

In Australia, although railway is the commonly used term, both railway and railroad are used in the names of railways - for instance Great Southern Railway as compared to the Australian Railroad Group (possibly deriving its name due to US ownership/investment). However, many names have been shortened to use only the root word rail - as in the case of Queensland Rail, which used to be Queensland Railways.

In Hong Kong, a former British territory that still uses English as an official language nowadays, the word railroad is almost never used. Meanwhile, the word railway is very commonly used, as in the Mass Transit Railway and the Kowloon-Canton Railway. The word railway is often shortened into rail, as in the East Rail and the West Rail.