rail trail
A rail trail is a shared-use path on 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 right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
in Ocean County,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
The trail occupies a abandoned rail corridor in
Ocean County, New Jersey
Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Barnegat Township
to Toms River. The trail was built on the former Barnegat Branch Division roadbed of the
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...
(CNJ). The bankrupt CNJ was absorbed into
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
in 1976, who terminated freight service the following year.
Controversy
A segment of the trail right-of-way has been the focus of an ongoing battle to build a bypass road
for Route 9. Lacey Township officials are proposing a shared road-walkway for this section of the trail. After legal battle, it was ruled that the town could use the trail for a roadway.