Branch line

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The Feucht – Altdorf line is a branch line that branches off the Nuremberg – Regensburg main line.

A branch line (also stitch line , the railway spur track , Austria wing rail or wing path ) is

• one of a transport line (or railway) or a transport network branching subordinate path which terminates at a place without or with limited connectivity to other public transportation (for. example, in rural areas , whereby composite limits can restrict connections) or
• a short route branching off from a traffic line, which is operated as part of a continuous route and is traveled twice (in the route A – B – C a branch to the location “o” is inserted: A – B → o → B – C).

Branch lines were created to open up areas that would otherwise not have adequate transport links, especially in rural areas. Even if the topography allows access to a place with reasonable effort only from one direction, for example in mountain valleys, on coasts or on the banks of large lakes and rivers, branch lines were created. Another reason is primarily one-way traffic relations, for example in places near a political, administrative or network border.

Branch lines can also arise from the interruption of existing traffic connections, for example partial closure of railway lines. For example, the continuous rail connection (Bremen–) Bassum – Rahden – Bünde has been discontinued, a branch line Rahden – Bünde remains. In many cases, such closures were used to prepare for the entire setting of a railway line, as continuous operation is no longer required. The connection is thus weakened. A reactivation of such former partial closures is often discussed today.

Branch lines are also available on regional bus routes. a. emerged in the course of the restructuring of overland to regional networks. Many rural communities can only be reached from one direction.

With branch lines it was often accepted that the operation would be in deficit , as the intention with the connection was to improve the economic situation in the developed territories. With the construction of roads and the beginning of individual traffic , many branch lines lost their importance and were closed.

There is an equivalent to the term branch line in road traffic with a cul-de-sac ( dead end ).

Remarks

1. ↑ Wing tracks are tracks on which a mixed traffic of local interest, ie composed of people, goods and products, moves towards or away from a main track. - See: Note. In:  Oesterreichische Zeitschrift für Verwaltung , No. 31/1873 (VI. Year), July 31, 1873, p. 123, bottom right. (Online at ANNO ). .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jürgen Dill: local railway corner .... branch lines in Franconia . Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 21, 2016. 
2. ^ Gerd Wolff: Lower Saxony . In: Archive of German small and private railways . S. 333 .