This was once the ROW of the parallel Pennsylvania and New York Central main lines, but Conrail removed the NYC tracks years ago. The other heads south through the industrial area along the west bank of the river. There is a connection from NS to the Belt here, and some NS trains, plus a few CSX and CP trains on trackage rights, transfer to BRC and then proceed west through Pullman to Clearing Yard. Transfers and switch jobs from BRC, CRL and Chicago Short Line occasionally move through here as well. The BRC and CRL see relatively light traffic.
Access is a problem here and the surrounding neighborhood is a bit rough.
The branch was formerly a Pennsylvania property, and was taken over by Conrail. It is now owned by NS and operated by both NS and Indiana Harbor Belt. At its south end, it feeds into the South Chicago and Southern, or Bernice Cutoff, just north of Burnham Junction. The branch is still fairly active and serves many industries along the river. The hot-metal train that runs through Burnham, Calumet Park and Dolton originates on this line at the Acme Steel plant.