railroads
n. countablen. a system of tracks, trains, and stations used for moving people and goods. You use this word to talk about the whole network of train travel.
n. a permanent road laid with rails, forming a track for trains to transport passengers and freight. Often used to refer to the entire infrastructure or the companies that manage it.
The country built new railroads to connect the major cities.
During the nineteenth century, the expansion of railroads transformed the economy by allowing goods to be shipped across the continent in days.
The decline of national railroads in the mid-twentieth century was largely driven by the rise of the interstate highway system and the increasing affordability of air travel.
Commonly used in American English; 'railways' is the preferred term in British English.