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 rail lines have low levels of service, perhaps just one or two trains per day.
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. 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.