Meaning & use
branch line
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A railway route that connects a smaller town or area to a main railway line.
Grammar: Countable; you can say a branch line or branch lines. It is often written as two words.
Patterns
- a branch line to somewhere
- on a branch line
The village is served by a branch line that runs from the main city station.
They are planning to reopen the old branch line to the coast.
Trains on this branch line are smaller and run less frequently.
Word forms
| plural | branch lines |
|---|
Common combinations
- branch line service
- The branch line service to the airport runs every hour.
- branch line station
- We got off at a quiet branch line station.
- reopen a branch line
- Campaigners want to reopen the branch line to the north.
- main line
- Change at the main line station for the branch line.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spur line
- Used especially in American English for a short railway line branching off a main route.
- feeder line
- Focuses on the line bringing passengers to a bigger route; branch line is the general term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: branch line or main line?
branch line vs main line
The main line is the principal railway route; a branch line is a secondary route that joins it.
Practice
What is a branch line?
Choose one answer.
A branch line is a smaller railway route that branches off a main line. Option A describes a main line, not a branch line.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “branch line”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.