Rails and Trails - Converting Railroad Paths into Walking Trails

intro

overview

history

cost & benefits

development issues

rails with trails

canal towpath trails

design of trails

resources

An active rail line and a trail, separated
by trees, shrubbery and grass.

As the demand for trails increases, planners and user groups are increasingly looking at the possibility of putting trails into corridors alongside active rail lines. Many railroad corridors are more than 100 feet wide and have just one or two active lines still in operation; other corridors are bounded by open space and appear to be good candidates for trail development. Many rail lines have low levels of service, perhaps just one or two trains per day.

Placing trails alongside active rail lines, however, is not going to be an option in most situations as there isn't enough space to safely separate frequent high speed trains from trail users; and there are real fears about trespassing and other safety and operational issues that must be addressed.

Despite these fears, there were around 60 such trails encompassing more than 230 miles in 20 states in 2001. Additionally, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) produced a best practices report to assist the planning, designing and operation of new "Rails-with-Trails" (RWT)

Issues and Concerns

Trespassing - Although the numbers have been falling in recent years, more than 500 people every year are killed by trains while they are trespassing in railroad corridors. Railroad companies and the Federal Railroad Administration are actively discouraging and preventing trespassing on railroad property and fear that the development of trails alongside active rail lines will either encourage trespassing or diminish the impact of their efforts to keep people away from moving trains.

Safety - In addition to the danger of being hit by a moving train, safety advocates are also concerned about the potential impact of placing trail users close enough to trains that they might be hit by debris kicked up by a high-speed train, or knocked over by the wind blast of a passing vehicle.

Crossing Active Tracks - The development of rails-with-trails will also increase the number of trail crossings of active rail lines as trail users get to and from their destinations. The railroad industry is alread concerned about the number of uncontrolled at-grade railroad crossings and is unlikely to encourage more of them as part of a trail project. The installation of gates and barriers is unlikely to be cost effective on all but the very busiest of trails.

Railroad Concerns - Railroad companies have other real concerns about the impact of trails on the operation of their business. For example, traffic patterns on the railroad network can change quite suddenly, meaning that once quiet lines can almost overnight become major corridors carrying frequent heavy freight trains - and thus making them much less suitable for shared use with a trail.

Trains may kick up debris as they go, and items may fall off a loaded train. The railroads do not want the perceived additional liability concerns associated with having trail users close enough to an active train line that they might be hit by debris.

Railroads are also keen to avoid any misunderstanding among trail users that their maintenance roads alongside active rail lines are open for bicycling and walking. In many cases, maintenance corridors may have a similar soft surface to rural trails.

Train crews have to deal with the horror of their train hitting and killing people on the tracks, unable to do anything to stop the fatal collision. Some crew members never recover from the trauma. Railroad companies want to prevent this from happening at all costs and may see a rail-with-trail proposal as increasing the possibility of a fatal crash with a trail user.

Solutions

The existence of about 60 rails-with-trails projects indicates that these concerns can be overcome with careful planning, design, and management. Among the strategies curently being pursued are: