Key:usage
 usage
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| Description |
|---|
| Describes the the primary usage of this railway |
| Group: Railway |
| Used on these elements |
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| Status: Unspecified |
| Tools for this tag |
The key usage=* is used to identify the primary usage of a railway track. This is in principle independent of the kind of railway. It is often used with railway=rail and railway=narrow_gauge.
The distinction between main and branch line in general should be straightforward, but may be vague in certain circumstances; for example, if the branch line is very long. Some generic criteria are described in the table, below, but one should consider each case individually. Oftentimes branch lines are described as such in the official name.
The distinction between the other types of usage should be more obvious.
Values
| Key | Value | Element | Comment | Rendering | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| usage | main | 
|
Main line, presumably heavy traffic, often double tracked, high speed. Example: Rail lines left and right of the Rhine river |
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| usage | branch |
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Less traffic than main line, lower speed, often single tracked, may be constructed to lower specifications than the main line. May connect a place to a mainline, typically a few dozen miles in length. | ||
| usage | industrial |
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Tracks in private use, industrial areas, also for connection to the public network Examples: Large surface mining areas, large industrial complex like iron or chemical industry. |
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| usage | military |
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Tracks for military use, mainly on military ground | ||
| usage | tourism |
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Tracks for touristic use, often used on weekends and holidays, most preserved railways Examples: Mount Washington Cog Railway, Cass Scenic Railroad, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad |
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| usage | freight |
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Tracks used only for freight; could probably be applied to a railway=station node/way/relation |
