A rail is a long and thin piece of wood such as a beam or board. The bottom and top horizontal pieces of a cabinet frame are its rails. A rail is the basically a horizontal part of a kitchen or bathroom cabinet frame. Rails can be used in combination with vertical wood pieces known as stiles. Every door or cabinet frame has two rails, one at the bottom and the other at the top and two stiles; one on each side. This construction style is known as the frame and panel technique.

 

Some doors are manufactured using two stiles, two rails and a panel; such doors are called "five-piece doors." A number of cabinet designs are built using the frame and panel method. All of the materials used,including the rail can be made using manufactured or solid wood products. A rail can be sanded and stained, but it can also be covered with a veneer so that it matches the remaining cabinets in the space.