also: ぶんぎき
noun
railroad switch; turnout
Technical term for a device that guides trains from one track to another. Used in railway engineering and operations.
分岐器の故障で電車が遅れた。
The train was delayed due to a switch failure.
保守作業員が分岐器の点検を行っている。
Maintenance workers are inspecting the railroad switch.
Compound of 分岐 (branching) and 器 (device). The reading ぶんきき reflects standard on'yomi, while ぶんぎき is a variant with rendaku on the second character.