branch line

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

Origin of branch line

First recorded in 1840–50

For one thing, the branch-line railroad does not often run in a genuinely competitive territory.

The Railroad Problem |Edward Hungerford
They are new, but they do represent the practical working of the great opportunity in branch-line railroading.

The Railroad Problem |Edward Hungerford
He was still tied and blindfolded, and I hope to be buried alive in a branch-line town if he wasn't getting bored.

At Good Old Siwash |George Fitch
Branch-line service in every part of the land has been a neglected feature of railroad opportunity—as we shall see in due course.

The Railroad Problem |Edward Hungerford

I got to some little junction at last where I had to wait an hour for a branch-line train.

The Passionate Friends |Herbert George Wells

branch line

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