trackwork

English

Alternative forms

• track-work

Etymology

track +‎ work

Noun

trackwork (uncountable)

1. (rail transport) Construction or maintenance of railroad tracks

   The train is going to be delayed by ten minutes due to trackwork.

   • 2020 April 8, Paul Stephen, “ECML dive-under drives divergence”, in Rail, pages 44–45:

     A small number of weekday and weekend possessions will also be required on June 20-21, September 5-6, and between December 19-March 2021, but will coincide with when there will already be a limited (or no) service into London King's Cross in conjunction with the extensive trackwork taking place at the terminus.

2. (rail transport) The tracks and associated equipment of a railway line.
   • 1963 October, G. Freeman Allen, R. K. Evans, “The Japanese National Railways and the New Tokaido Line”, in Modern Railways, page 240:

     The advantages of this policy were twofold - the operation of m.u. trains only, with their lighter axle load, would allow the trackwork and underbridges to be simpler and lighter in construction; and speeds up to 150 m.p.h. could more easily be achieved than with conventional locomotive-hauled trains.

   • 1979 August, Michael Harris, “A line for all reasons: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway”, in Railway World, page 412:

     At present the principal exercise in resignalling and new trackwork involves the Pickering area.

3. (horse racing) Practice in racing around a track
   • 2009 January 30, Tim Habel, “Short journey to suit Hussler”, in Herald Sun‎^[1]:

     McDonald described Weekend Hussler's trackwork this preparation as "frightening".

References

• “trackwork”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.