Rails with trails are a small subset of rail trail

Rail trail

A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...

s in which a railway

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 right-of-way remains in use by trains yet also has a parallel recreational trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

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

United States

In the United States the number of rails with trails is increasing. As of 2000, there were 1,000 rail trails in operation nationwide, with a total length of about 17,750 km (11,029 mi). Of those, 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 are 11 miles (17.7 km) long, but the small minority of rails with trails are 4 miles (6.4 km) long.



United States rails with trails with articles on Wikipedia:

• Indiana
  Indiana
  Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
  
  
  • Calumet Trail
    Calumet Trail
    The Calumet Trail is an east-west bicycle and multiuse recreational trail in northwestern Indiana's Calumet region, running roughly parallel to U.S...
    
    

• New Mexico
  New Mexico
  New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
  
  
  • Santa Fe Southern Railway

Safety

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."

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."

External links

• Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
• Rails-WITH-Trails