viewpoints of both the rail and trail sides.
He occupied key executive positions with
Conrail and, later, Genesee & Wyoming
Inc., which operates short-line and
regional freight railroads in the U.S. and
overseas. “Yes, it is becoming increasingly
accepted that rails-with-trails are safe.
But irrespective of how small the level of
risk is, the liability issue is still there. For
these freight railroads, there has to be an
answer to the question, ‘Why should I
allow a trail?’”
Marshall believes one thing trails can
offer freight carriers is a solution to the
problem of trespassers. Providing a safe,
convenient and intentional pathway has
been shown to reduce the incentive of peo-
ple to walk along the tracks illegally—itself
a liability issue for the corridor owner.
“
It is the challenge for the trail-build-
ing community over the next decades to
give the major freight carriers a reason to
be invested,” Marshall says. “Trespasser
prevention is certainly one opportunity.
Another is working to change state liabil-
ity protection laws. By providing greater
protection for railroads from prosecution
in the event of an accident, the quid pro
quo could be that railroads have to allow
trails alongside their rights-of-way.”
Cost and Liability
Despite his patient optimism, Marshall
is right about the liability issue. The
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation
Authority (SEPTA) has proven itself to
be incredibly supportive of repurposing
its disused rail corridors, and has created
10
rail-trails throughout its region. But
SEPTA Real Estate Director Gerald M.
Maier makes no bones about the fact
that, for his agency, trails alongside active
lines are a whole other ballgame.
“
We are in the business of providing
transportation options, and that’s why
we’ve supported the trails that we have,”
Maier says. “We have looked at rails-
with-trails, and we’re concerned about the
safety risks. SEPTA is sympathetic, but
very averse [to the risk]. The issue really
goes to safety and liability.”
Maier references a proposal currently
before SEPTA to extend the Pennypack
Trail in Montgomery County across the
regional rail system’s West Trenton Line.
“
The extension will cost Montgomery
County $900,000 over the next 30 years,
mostly for at-grade crossing devices and
maintenance costs,” he says.
Elsewhere in southeastern Pennsylvania,
local advocates for development of the
Chester Creek Branch Rail Trail are see-
ing firsthand that if a rail corridor is
under consideration for reactivation,
it adds a layer of complexity to even
the best laid rail-trail plans. Almost 12
years after the Chester Creek Rail Trail
Feasibility Study proposed a trail along
a corridor that SEPTA is considering for
future reactivation, the plan still sits on
the drawing board. “Railroads are very
formal organizations and are subject to
numerous laws, regulations and govern-
ing authorities,” the study authors wrote.
“
It is important to realize that, [because
we are working with] a bureaucratic orga-
nization, the process will not be quick.”
“
Not quick” is putting it delicately.
In nearby Philadelphia, the story of how
CSX came to allow the Schuylkill River
Trail to cross its active line at grade is a
14-
year epic, brought to a conclusion
in favor of the trail planners only after a
CSX lawsuit backfired and trail advocates
created a groundswell of public pressure.
Worn in but not worn down by the
CSX/Schuylkill River Trail experience,
Sarah Clark Stuart, policy director for the
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia,
says that rail-with-trail presents a far
greater challenge than developing a trail
along a disused corridor. “But all the
easy-to-build corridors have already been
built,” she says. “Now, many of the major
gaps in trail systems are where the only
opportunity is rail-with-trail. It’s a much
harder next step.”
Stuart’s organization currently is work-
ing with SEPTA on the possible exten-
sion of the Radnor Trail northwest of
Philadelphia. But SEPTA has put evalu-
ation of the trail plan on hold as it eyes
part of the corridor for possible activation
of high-speed transit service. Stuart says
the wisest course of action has been to
proceed with great patience and try to
appreciate the concerns of the rail agency.
“
We scaled back the feasibility study
for the time being. We’re studying several
shorter sections not next to the rail cor-
ridor,” she says. “We’ll move forward with
these, and we’ll just wait. Allowing a trail
next to their high-speed rail line would
be precedent-setting for them, so they’re
proceeding very cautiously. We appreciate
their concerns. In the end, we just have to
be patient.”
The Keys to Success
Patience is a word that appears again and
again in stories about how rail-with-trail
projects get built. So is insurance. During
her study of successful rails-with-trails
across the country, RTC’s Pack found one
thing many of them had in common was
the insurance support of the local munici-
pality or governing agency.
Three Rivers
Heritage Trail in
Pennsylvania
Peter Treiber
Jake Lynch
rails
to
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