• train ~ a general term for all types of trains. Also, a train is made up of train cars.
• subway ~ a train that runs underground. In British English, the underground.
• monorail ~ an elevated train that runs on a single rail. Mono means “one.”
• freight train ~ a train that carries goods. A train car that is closed and carries freight is called a boxcar.

Railroad Idioms: Test Your Knowledge

• See which railroad idioms you know, phrases that involve rails and tracks

When railroads came along a hundred and fifty years ago, they changed our view of the world. For the first time, people could travel across whole continents with reliable, safe, and comfortable transportation.