Rails with trails (RWT) are a small subset of

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, 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 corr ...

s in which a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

right-of-way remains in use by

trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

yet also has a parallel recreational

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

. Hundreds of kilometers of RWTs exist in Canada, Europe, the United States, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Australia

Rails with trails in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

usually exist along publicly owned passenger railways outside of the larger cities. They are called "rail-side trails" and are built on railroad-owned land but managed by local government entities.

Canada

Rails with trails exist in most provinces including Nova Scotia, Québec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. While the length varies, most are relatively short compared to those in the United States, ranging from less than 100 meters long to several kilometers. Canadian rails with trails are frequently smaller segments of a longer trail, "with a rails-with-trails portion located on bridges, at choke points, and where the rail corridor was deemed the best alignment for a portion of a trail."

Europe

Some urban bike paths in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

feature bicycle trails and tracks for trams located side-by-side. And in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, there are also rural routes where intercity trains run parallel to multiuse trails.

United Arab Emirates

While the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

does not have a large number of railroads, rails with trails do exist along rail transit corridors. The Roads and Transport Authority maintains a nine-kilometer bicycle trail alongside the Dubai Tramway that connects stations with Jumeirah Beach and various residential areas.

United States

In 2000, there were 1,000 rail trails in operation nationwide, comprising a total length of about 17,750 km /11,029 mi. Only 60 (387 km/240 mi) were rails with trails, up from 37 (246 km/152 mi) in 1996. Thus, on average United States rail trails in 2000 were long with a small minority of rails with trails being long. As of 2018, there were 343 identified rails with trails in the United States, comprising 917 miles of rails-with-trails in 47 states. By comparison, there are currently 2,404 open rail-trails across the United States comprising a total of 25,723 miles along with 867 rail-trail projects planned for an additional total of 9,147 miles. 420px, Map of United States Rails-with-Trail existing in 2002. United States rails with trails with articles on Wikipedia: * California:

Ohlone Greenway The Ohlone Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle path in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The path is named for the Native Americans in the United States, Native American Ohlone, who live in th ...

, E Line, G Line, Sacramento Southern Railroad (SSRR),

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a commuter rail service and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a corridor between Clover ...

* Illinois:

Green Bay Trail The Green Bay Trail is a rails with trails built on the former Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad. It runs parallel to Metra's Union Pacific North Line for nearly nine miles from Wilmette, Illinois, to Highland Park, Illinois. It was ori ...

* Indiana:

Calumet Trail The Calumet Trail is an east-west bicycle and multiuse recreational trail in the Calumet region of northwestern Indiana, United States. It runs roughly parallel to U.S. Route 12 and the right-of-way of the South Shore line, along the NIPSCO e ...

* Maryland: Western Maryland Scenic Railroad * Massachusetts:

Somerville Community Path The Somerville Community Path is a paved rail trail in Somerville, Massachusetts, running from the Alewife Linear Park at the Cambridge/Somerville border to East Cambridge via Davis Square. The first portion opened in 1985 along part of the form ...

Extension * Minnesota:

Cedar Lake Trail Cedar Lake Trail is a , shared-use path in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from downtown Minneapolis to the neighboring suburb of St. Louis Park. The trail begins at its eastern trailhead in downtown Minneapolis and continues west to Minnesota St ...

, Hiawatha LRT Trail, Kenilworth Trail,

Midtown Greenway The Midtown Greenway is a rail trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota that follows the path of an abandoned route of the Milwaukee Road, Milwaukee Road railway. It is considered under segregated cycle facilities. Used both recreationally and for ...

, Southwest LRT Trail * New Jersey: Traction Line Recreation Trail, Henry Hudson Trail * New Mexico: Santa Fe Rail Trail/

Santa Fe Southern Railway The Santa Fe Southern Railway is a short line railroad in New Mexico, United States. In addition to carrying freight on occasion, it also operates as a tourist railroad called Sky Railway that carries passengers between Lamy and Santa Fe: a ...

, * Ohio: Camp Chase Trail/ Camp Chase Railway * Pennsylvania: D&L Trail, Five Star Trail,

Northern Central Railway of York The Northern Central Railway of York is a non-profit, Civil War themed heritage railroad based in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. A reproduction 4-4-0 steam locomotive hauls passengers over 10 miles of Northern Central Railway track between New Free ...

York County Heritage Rail Trail Heritage Rail Trail County Park is a National Recreation Trail rail-with-trail in Pennsylvania built in 1999 by the York County Rail Trail Authority (YCRTA). It connects with the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail in Maryland. The trail runs along t ...

Schuylkill River Trail The Schuylkill River Trail ( , ) is a multi-use trail along the banks of the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania. Partially complete, the trail is ultimately planned to run about from the river's headwaters in Schuylkill County, Penns ...

* Washington: Burke-Gilman Trail, Pierce County Foothills Trail

Safety

Rails with trails are considered safe, with a 2013 report from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy finding only one record of a fatality involving a rail-with-trail user and a train, and just two reports of injury, during a 20-year period in the United States. A 1997 study of the feasibility of rails with trails identified a need for guidelines concerning RWT crossings, fencing, setbacks, and other items. These guidelines were developed in the form of ''Rails-with-Trails: Lessons Learned'', which finds that "well-designed RWTs meet the operational needs of railroads, often providing benefits in the form of reduced trespassing and dumping. A poorly designed RWT will compromise safety and function for both trail users and the railroad." FTA-MA-26-0052-04-1. 155 pages. A 1996 study of safety on rails with trails in the United States evaluated 37 existing RWTs in 16 states and concluded that "active railroad lines can function with an adjacent pedestrian, horse, and bike path without problem" and RWTs are "no more dangerous than rail-trails alone or next to busy streets."

Australia

Canada

Europe

United Arab Emirates

United States

Safety

See also

References

Sources

External links