branch line

American  

noun

1. a rail line, directly or indirectly connected with a main line, having its own stations and service.

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branch line British  

noun

1. railways a secondary route to a place or places not served by a main line

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Etymology

Origin of branch line

First recorded in 1840–50

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

branch line

The rail junction connects the Leiston branch line to the east Suffolk line.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

A 3.3-mile stretch of a branch line to be re-laid in Portishead, southwest England, required 79,187 pages of planning documents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

"We're delighted to hear the Cowley branch line will be reopened to passenger traffic," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2025

When a branch line was built from Goshen to Visalia in 1874, people had high hopes that it would lead to prosperity for the town, but the boom never arrived.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2023

“Och, no, not to Aberdeen. The next train’s the branch line to Castle Craig.”

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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