Topic summary
Branch line

Minor railway line Railway connection between the new Nuremberg–Munich high-speed railway and Germany's historical rail network. The "0-kilometre peg" marks the start of a branch line in Western Australia. A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located on a main line. Branch lines may also connect two or more main lines. Industrial spur An industrial spur is a type of secondary track used by railroads to allow customers at a location to load and unload freight vehicles without interfering with other railroad operations. Industrial spurs can vary greatly in length and freight vehicle capacity, depending on the requirements of the customer the spur is serving. In heavily industrialized areas, it is not uncommon for one industrial spur to have multiple sidings to several different customers. Typically, spurs are serviced by local trains responsible for collecting small numbers of rail vehicles and delivering them to a larger yard, where they are sorted and dispatched in larger trains with o