Meanings
plural railcars
- rail transportA self-propelled railway vehicle for passengers, similar to a bus.
The semi-streamlined contour of the earlier G.W.R. railcars has been given up in favour of a more utilitarian blunt-nose end, and effective floor space gained thereby.
1941 October, “Notes and News: Great Western Parcels Railcar”, in Railway Magazine, page 4741 more example
Profitable operation is being made possible by the widespread introduction of capacious diesel railcars, which for their comfort and speed are very popular with the travelling public.
1953 April, “Reviving U.S.A. Passenger Traffic”, in Railway Magazine, page 218Synonyms: railbus
- rail transportA powered single railway vehicle designed for passenger transport, with a driver's cab in both ends; Not to be confused with motor coach/motorcar, which is a powered railway vehicle capable to haul a train.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA self-propelled railway vehicle for passengers, similar to a bus.
nounAny unpowered railway vehicle.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna wheeled vehicle adapted to the rails of railroad
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian автодрези́на
- автодрези́на (avtodrezína)powered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Danish skinnebus, motorvogn
- skinnebusself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- motorvognpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Dutch railbus, motorrijtuig
- railbusself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- motorrijtuigpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Estonian mootorvagun
- mootorvagunpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Finnish kiskobussi, moottorijuna
- kiskobussiself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- moottorijunapowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
- moottorivaunupowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
French autobus sur rails, automotrice
- autobus sur railsself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- automotricepowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
German Schienenbus, Triebwagen
- Schienenbusself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- Triebwagenpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Icelandic dráttarvagn
- dráttarvagnpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Italian autobus su rotaia, automotrice
- autobus su rotaiaself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- automotricepowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Mandarin 自動道車 /自动道车, 自动道车
- 自動道車 /自动道车powered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
- 自动道车 (zìdòng dàochē)powered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Norwegian motorvogn
- motorvognpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Norwegian Bokmål skinnebuss
- skinnebussself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
Polish szynobus, autobus szynowy
- szynobusself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- autobus szynowyself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- drezyna spalinowapowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
- wagon silnikowypowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Portuguese automotriz, automotora
- automotrizpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
- automotorapowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
- litorinapowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Romanian automotor
- automotorpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Russian автодрези́на, автомотри́са
- автодрези́на (avtodrezína)powered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
- автомотри́са (avtomotrísa)powered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Spanish ferrobús, buscarril
- ferrobúsself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- buscarrilself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- gascarself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- automotorpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
- coche motorpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Swedish rälsbuss, motorvagn
- rälsbussself-propelled railway vehicle similar to a bus
- motorvagnpowered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Ukrainian автодрези́на
- автодрези́на (avtodrezýna)powered single railway vehicle with driver's cab at both ends
Cite this entry
railcar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/railcar
“railcar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/railcar. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “railcar,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/railcar.
Source: railcar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.