Product Code Database
A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corridor with active railways, light rail, or tram (rails with trails), or with disused track. As shared-use paths, rail trails are primarily for non-motorized traffic including pedestrians, bicycles, horseback riders, skaters, and cross-country skiers, although snowmobiles and ATVs may be allowed. The characteristics of abandoned railways—gentle grades, well-engineered rights of way and structures (bridges and tunnels), and passage through historical areas—lend themselves to rail trails and account for their popularity. Many rail trails are long-distance trails, while some shorter rail trails are known as greenways or .
The longest rail trail in Canada is the Newfoundland T'Railway that covers a distance of . Protected as a linear park under the provincial park system, the T'Railway consists of the railbed of the historic Newfoundland Railway as transferred from its most recent owner, Canadian National Railway, to the provincial government after rail service was abandoned on the island of Newfoundland in 1988. The rail corridor stretches from Channel-Port aux Basques in the west to St. John's in the east with branches to Stephenville, Lewisporte, Bonavista, Placentia and Carbonear.
Following the abandonment of the Prince Edward Island Railway in 1989, the government of Prince Edward Island purchased the right-of-way to the entire railway system. The Confederation Trail was developed as a tip-to-tip walking/cycling gravel rail trail which doubles as a monitored and groomed snowmobile trail during the winter months, operated by the PEI Snowmobile Association. In Quebec, Le P'tit Train du Nord runs from Saint-Jérôme to Mont-Laurier.
In Toronto, there are two rail trails, the Beltline Trail and the West Toronto Railpath.
In central Ontario, the former Victoria Railway line, which runs from the town of Lindsay, Ontario, north to the village of Haliburton, in Haliburton County, serves as a public recreation trail. It can be used for cross country skiing, walking, and snowmobiling in the winter months, and walking, cycling, and horse riding from spring to autumn. The majority of the rail trail passes through sparsely populated areas of the Canadian Shield, with historic crossing several rivers.
The old Sarnia Bridge in St. Marys, Ontario, was re-purposed as part of the Grand Trunk Trail. The former Grand Trunk Railway viaduct was purchased from Canadian National Railway in 1995. The Grand Trunk Trail was opened in 1998 with over of paved, accessible trail. In 2012, The re-purposing of the Sarnia Bridge was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame.
A railroad between Gateway Road and Raleigh Street (i.e. streets immediately parallel to the railway on each side) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was turned into a Asphalt concrete trail in 2007. It is called the Northeast Pioneers Greenway, and there are plans for expansion into East St. Paul, and eventually to Birds Hill Park.
In Nova Scotia, almost every section of the Trans Canada Trail and other walking trails are abandoned railways. A small railway line from Musquodoboit Harbour (Musquodoboit Trailway) to Dartmouth are nearly fully used by community members and tourists. Another extremely large section is used from Halifax to New Germany to Yarmouth to Grand Pre.
A considerable part of the Trans Canada Trail are repurposed defunct rail lines donated to provincial governments by CP and CN rail rebuilt as walking trails. The main section runs along the southern areas of Canada connecting most of Canada's major cities and most populous areas. There is also a long northern arm which runs through Alberta to Edmonton and then up through northern British Columbia to Yukon. The trail is multi-use and depending on the section may allow hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders, cross country skiers and snowmobilers.
The longest developed rail trail is currently the Katy Trail in Missouri. When complete, the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska will become the second-longest, extending for , the longest being the Ohio to Erie Trail in Ohio at .
The BeltLine, in Atlanta, Georgia, is currently under construction. In 2030, its anticipated year of completion, it will be one of the longest continuous trails. The Atlanta BeltLine is a sustainable redevelopment project that will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting many neighborhoods directly to each other.
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a nationwide nonprofit group that advocates for rail trails and has many documents and advice on building a rail trail. Per their records, the U.S. currently has 22,107 miles of rail trail complete. , Michigan has the most total mileage (2,381) of any state.
Many of these former railway lines form part of the British National Cycle Network, connecting with long-distance paths and along Britain's extensive network of canals. For example, the Milton Keynes redway system runs throughout Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England, in parts using the former trackbed of the defunct Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line (closed 1962) and the Grand Union Canal towpath. Together, these paths form part of the long-distance National Cycle Network Route 6 and Route 51. Other urban and suburban rail trails include the Fallowfield Loop Line in Manchester, the Middlewood Way in Cheshire and the Ebury Way in Watford. Notable rural rail trails include the Dava Way, running along the route of the former Highland Railway between Grantown and Forres in the Scottish Highlands, and the High Peak Trail in the English Peak District. In London, a more unusual scheme has been proposed to convert some disused London Underground tunnels into subterranean rail trails under the city, but this scheme has not been officially approved.
The rail-trail on the former Westport to Achill Island line, known as the Great Western Greenway, was completed in 2011. Much progress has been made on the development of a rail-trail on the former Limerick to Tralee/Fenit line, in the form of the Great Southern Trail. As of 2013, a section from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale has been completed.
Planning permission has been granted to redevelop the former Galway to Clifden railway into a greenway, but negotiations are still underway with landowners regarding its routing. A section of the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway railway line, from Claremorris to Collooney has been touted for redevelopment as a greenway, but has met with some recent opposition from groups wishing for reestablishment of the railway itself.
There is also the Vennbahn, which runs along an unusual border between Belgium and Germany.
The disused railway consists of the main line from the Tanjong Pagar railway station to Woodlands, extending either or , depending on the source. There is also the Jurong spur line, in length. The area occupied by the railways is at least , and up to when the land around the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and other nodes are included. Given the location of the railway lands in land scarce Singapore, there was concern that the lands would be developed. Organisations such as the Nature Society Singapore developed comprehensive plans to maintain the rail lands for nature-related pursuits. The Green Corridor web site is a campaign website dedicated to preserving its natural form.
Railroad property rights have often been poorly defined and sporadically enforced, with neighboring property owners intentionally or accidentally using land they do not own. Such encroachers often later oppose a rail to trail conversion. Even residents who are not encroaching on railway lands may oppose conversion on the grounds of increased traffic in the area and the possibility of a decline in personal security. Because linear corridors of land are only valuable if they are intact, special laws regulate the abandonment of a railroad corridor. In the United States, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) regulates railroads, and can allow a corridor to be "" or placed on hold for possible conversion back to active status when or if future need demands.
While many rail trails have been built, other proposals have been cancelled by community opposition. The stature of the conversion organization, community involvement, and government willingness are key factors.
On the other hand, there are a growing number of cases where existing rails and infrastructure, in service or not, are being called to be torn up for trails. Two cases of this are in New York State, against the Catskill Mountain Railroad in Kingston, New York, and the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in Old Forge, New York. In Connecticut, the not-in-service section of track on the Valley Railroad has been proposed by locals to be converted to trail. Though perceived by residents to be, as it has not carried a train since the 1960s, the railroad has never been formally abandoned. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection acquired the line from Penn Central in 1969, and subsequently signed a long-term lease with the railroad. The railroad has been continually working to bring this section of the line back into service. Both Departments strongly support the preservation of the line, and have provided support to the railroad with property encroachment from abutters and the provision of . All three of these examples are heritage railroads, which serve to protect the history of the railroad. Their primary revenue is tourist operations, so rail traffic is seasonal; though all three have been granted rights to carry freight, should customers show interest.
Most purchase of railway land is dictated by the free market value of the land, so that land in urban and industrial cores is often impractical to purchase and convert. Therefore, rail trails may end on the fringes of urban areas or near industrial areas and resume later, as discontinuous portions of the same rail line, separated by unaffordable or inappropriate land.
A railroad right-of-way (easement) width varies based on the terrain, with a width being ample enough where little surface grading is required. The initial stretch of the Illinois Central Railroad is the most liberal in the world with a width of along the whole length of the line. Rail trails are often graded and covered in gravel or crushed stone, although some are paved with Asphalt concrete and others are left as dirt. Where rail bridges are incorporated into the trail, the only alterations (if any) tend to be adding solid walking areas on top of ties or trestles, though bridges in poorer condition do receive new , paint, and reinforcement. If paved, they are especially suitable for people who use wheelchairs.
Where applicable, the same trails used in the summer for walking, jogging, and inline skating can be used in the winter for Nordic skiing, , and sometimes snowmobiling.
|
|
