In December 1853 the newly formed New York Central Railroad leased the Buffalo and Niagara Falls,[2] which at the time did not connect to any other NYC lines.

In 1873 a connection was built downtown (partly using a short piece of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway), forming a complete loop, known as the Buffalo Belt Line.

The International Bridge opened in 1874, connecting the Buffalo and Niagara Falls at Black Rock to Ontario, Canada.

CSX operates it, along with the old connection to the New York Central main line, and the connection to the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and Michigan Central Railway Bridge (via the old Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad), as their Niagara Subdivision.

Amtrak's Empire Service and Maple Leaf carry passengers along the full line, the latter continuing to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.