Editing Branch line (section)

====United States====
{{See also|Rail transportation in the United States}}

In the United States, abandonment of unproductive branch lines was a byproduct of deregulation of the rail industry through the ''[[Staggers Act]]''.

The [[Princeton Branch]] is a [[commuter rail]] line and service owned and operated by [[New Jersey Transit]] (NJT) in the U.S. state of [[New Jersey]]. The line is a short branch of the [[Northeast Corridor Line]], running from [[Princeton Junction (NJT station)|Princeton Junction]] northwest to [[Princeton (NJT station)|Princeton]] with no intermediate stops. Also known as the "Dinky Line",<ref>{{cite book | last = Rosenbaum | first = Joel | author2 = Tom Gallo | title = NJ Transit Rail Operations | publisher = Railpace Newsmagazine | year = 1997 | url = http://www.railpace.com/store/njt_book.htm | access-date = 20 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111003090513/http://www.railpace.com/store/njt_book.htm | archive-date = 3 October 2011 | url-status = dead }}</ref> at {{convert|2.9|mi|km|abbr=on}} it is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States.<ref>{{citation | title = Picks and Pans Review: Princeton Junction & Back | magazine = [[People (magazine)|People]] |volume=11 |issue=13 | date = 2 April 1979 | url = http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20073295,00.html | access-date =15 April 2012 }}</ref><ref name = NJTweighsin>{{cite web | last = Schultz | first = Bonnie | title = Arts and Transit: NJ Transit Weighs In | publisher = AllPrinceton.com | date = June 2011 | url = http://allprinceton.com/content/arts-and-transit-nj-transit-weighs | access-date = 15 April 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018222612/http://allprinceton.com/content/arts-and-transit-nj-transit-weighs | archive-date = 18 October 2012 | url-status = dead }}</ref> The run takes 4 minutes, 47 seconds.<ref name = shorter>{{cite news | last = Frassinelli | first = Mike | title = Historic Princeton 'Dinky' line train station to move for arts center | newspaper = The Star-Ledger | date = 25 June 2013 | url = http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/06/historic_princeton_dinky_line_train_station_to_move_for_arts_center.html | access-date = 26 June 2013 }}</ref>

Other than the Princeton Line, other surviving branch lines include the [[Gladstone Branch]] in New Jersey; as well as the [[New Canaan Branch]], [[Danbury Branch]], and [[Waterbury Branch]] in [[Connecticut]]. The [[Long Island Rail Road]] also refers to its services as "branches".