During practical rail defect inspection, the perceptual sensing structure in eddy current thermography is being considered at an increased lift-off distance from the rail surface to ensure enhanced safety and reliability, taking into account factors such as vibration and uneven track surfaces. However, the lift-off distance of most electromagnetic excitation sensing is typically limited to within 10 mm due to the positive correlation between energy transmission loss and distance, thereby resulting in potential hazards in rail inspection. To mitigate the issue, this study proposes a novel approach of utilizing snaked magnetization sensing to efficiently excite the rail under large lift-off conditions. Concretely, an in-depth analysis of the limitations associated with lift-off distance in existing electromagnetic thermography inspections is conducted. The appropriate spacing, turns, and lift-off distance are determined through a comprehensive approach that combines theoretical, simulation-based, and experimental analyses. And the effectiveness of the proposed structure is verified by on-site experiments. The findings suggest that when a lift-off distance of 30 mm and a detection speed of 1 m/s are employed, this approach was successfully implemented for the practical inspection of rail defects with varying sizes, which demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed sensing for large-lift scan detection.