Finding closest lane to a node using python script

Is it possible to find the Way ID that is the closest to a Node (or a POI). I am trying to find the railway track id that is closest to a railway station node. The OSM data for station contains the coordinates in Lat-Long format. The data also includes the railway track in the form of 'way' and a series of node elements specifing the way. The intended process is thought to be done in python by making a series of parsing steps through the osm xml file.

How can a connection be established between the railway track passing through the given station node.

Thanks