Main line (railway)

The Mainline or Main line of a railway is a track that is used for through trains or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines, yards, sidings and spurs are connected.

It generally refers to a route between towns, as opposed to a route providing suburban or metro services. For capacity reasons, main lines in many countries will at a minimum be double tracked, and will often contain multiple parallel tracks.

Mainline tracks are typically operated at higher speeds than branch lines, and are generally built and maintained to a higher standard than yards and branch lines.

Railroad switches (points in the UK) are usually set in the direction of the main line by default. Failure to do so has been a factor in several fatal railway accidents, for example the Buttevant Rail Disaster in Ireland,^[1] and the Graniteville train disaster in the US.^[2]

Mainlines may also be operated under shared access by a number of railway companies, with sidings and branches operated by private companies or single railway companies.

In the UK, the term "Mainline" may also be used to distinguish any train or track that is not part of a light-rail or Underground network.

References

1. ^ "Report of the Investigation into the Accident on the CIE Railway at Buttevant, Co. Cork, on 1st August, 1980" (PDF). Department of Transport. April 1981. p. 31. http://www.transport.ie/upload/general/6559-0.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
2. ^ United States National Transportation Safety Board (November 29, 2005). "Report of Railroad Accident: Collision of Norfolk Southern Freight Train 192 with Standing Norfolk Southern Local Train P22 With Subsequent Hazardous Materials Release. Graniteville, South Carolina; January 6, 2005. NTSB/RAR-05/04". http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2005/RAR0504.pdf. Retrieved 2005-11-29.