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Glite Dictionary
short line

short line

1 6.0
A small private train route that connects local towns to main railway lines
  • noun
  • Jargon
translation icon : ferrocarril corto
  • Local entrepreneurs are excited about the short line that will connect their factories to the larger transportation networks.
  • short line railroad

Examples

  • The new short line will provide better access to the remote village from the main railway.

  • I saw a short line at a station on Palmer Ave in Larch Mount, so I jumped on.

    Blog text (7)

  • Canadian National has an operating short line.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The survey that we did of short line railways, largely in the United States, showed that there are many elements of employee decision-making in the short lines.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The short line aquires freight cars to transport goods from the central hub to smaller markets nearby.

Synonyms

branch line
vsshort line
1 3.9

A railway line that leaves a main line to serve a small area

is usually privately owned and operates independently over limited distances

How Long

main line
7 3.2
beltline
  • US
2 4.3
short line
  • Jargon
1 6.0
branch line
1 3.9
spur
  • Specialized
10 7.0

Surface Forms

short line singular
short lines plural

Morphology

short + line

The meaning 'a small/short railroad or transport route' is directly built from 'short' (of small length) modifying 'line' (a route or connection, as in a railway line). This modifier+noun composition is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Short line comes from the simple image of a short piece of track or line that covers a small distance and joins local towns to a larger railroad. That's why it means 'a small, local railroad'.