From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chicago Transit Authority
signal tower
18 guides elevated
Chicago 'L'
north and southbound
Purple
and
Brown
lines intersecting with east and westbound
Pink
and
Green
lines and the looping
Orange line
above the
Wells
and
Lake street
intersection
in the
loop
.
A
junction
, when discussed in the context of
transport
, is a location where
traffic
can change between different routes, directions, or sometimes modes, of travel.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The word "junction" derives from Latin
iunctus
, past participle of
iungere
, to join. The word "junction" in this context may also refer to:
- The general locality of a given interchange
- A specific interchange on a major road, e.g.
motorway
. This is the common use in the
United Kingdom
. For example,
Milton Keynes
is said to be "off
junction 13
" of the
M1
.
History
[
edit
]
Historically, many
cities
and
market towns
developed wherever there was a junction. A
road intersection
offered opportunities for rest or trade for travellers and
merchants
. Towns sprang up to accommodate this; the first such in
Europe
were probably at intersections of the
Roman roads
.
A similar effect came with the growth of
rail transport
; so-called
railway towns
grew up near major
railway junctions
– originally to accommodate railway workers, but expanding into fully functioning settlements over time.
Junctions also developed where different modes of transport intersected, e.g. canal and rail.
Junctions for specific transport modes
[
edit
]
- See main articles:
Junction (road)
and
Junction (rail)
.
There are many types of different junction for
road transport
and
rail transport
(including
metro
and
rapid transit
systems). If many of these are contained in a small area, and where passengers can change from one transport mode to the other in them, it is said to be a
transport hub
.