Sandbox
In the Endless game mode you are starting out small and have to acquire new contracts to earn more money and experience points to be able to grow your network.
Everything repeats in cycles of 60 min and you will get a cycle report at end of each one with a score based of money earned. Leveling up through tiers of system upgrades is also based on how many experience points you can acquire in a single cycle.
From the start there is a lot of manual dispatching of trains, but as you level up you can install upgrades which help you with automating your network to be able to handle more trains and contracts. You will also find upgrades such as new contract types, higher speed tracks, interface upgrades, more contract offers to choose from and being able to expand to more stations.
The end goal of Endless is to get hold of the star for each colored experience point. However, this is the sandbox game mode of Rail Route and you can define your own goals and keep playing for as long as you want.
At the start only a few stations are unlocked and connected with some starting tracks. You will also have a few contracts pre-accepted so you have something to start on.
From there you are free to do what you want. Earn money, earn experience points, construct more tracks, buy access to more platforms and stations, get more contracts, install system upgrades to grow and expand your network.
If you want an even more sandbox feel for the endless map and don't want to bother with earning money, system upgrade tiers or installing new upgrades you have these options to choose from when creating a new game.
You can find more in the hints section