permanent way

American  

noun

British.

1. the roadbed and track of a railroad.

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permanent way British  

noun

1. the track of a railway, including the ballast, sleepers, rails, etc

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Etymology

Origin of permanent way

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

This tracks with national trends: According to Michael Sances, a political scientist at Temple University, the Black Lives Matter movement did successfully push Democratic voters in a permanent way on the matter of police reform, even if the shift wasn’t as drastic as it initially seemed.

From Slate

The terrain is difficult enough and inaccessible enough that it likely would not have been utilized even by pre-Columbian peoples, certainly not in a permanent way.

From Salon

So those wheels have always moved extraordinarily slowly, and I wish that revelations like Dan Janzen's back in the early '90s would have really changed that in a permanent way, in a global way, but they haven't.

From Salon

Those joining the call are "ready to help bring an end to this war in a just and permanent way that allows Ukraine to enjoy its freedom", he said.

From BBC

The result is that we can genetically label those cells in a permanent way.

From Scientific American