shenandoah rails with to trails river valley rail road railroad railway rail way trail rails bike biking walk walking trail 48 mile train trains short line rr corridor line track tracks tourist freight passenger commuter
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THE OPPORTUNITY
The Shenandoah Valley is home to a 48-mile unused freight railroad corridor, currently owned by Norfolk Southern. Due to line redundancy created by the merger in the early 1980's, the line has been slowly losing traffic until being labeled out-of-service in December 2020.
Despite currently connecting the Valley to America's rail network the Shenandoah Rail Trail Exploratory Partnership has plans to dismantle this vital end-to-end corridor and convert it to a single-use trail, touting it as a "transportation solution." While well intentioned, the Partnership has not presented thorough data to rule out the viability of freight, tourist, or passenger rail in the Shenandoah Valley. They assume that because the current owner, Norfolk Southern Corp., hasn't reactivated the line, that it must not be viable as a short line railroad. Yet, the railroad remains unsold.
Check out our resources tab to see our supporting data.
THE SOLUTION
We believe in the success of trails, but not at the expense of vital railroad infrastructure that is deeply sought after by light industry and business. This is why we promote a "rails-WITH-trails" approach (RWT).
Rails - Revitalize the railroad for current freight needs and tourist desires while preserving the valleys access to sustainable passenger rail for ALL of the Valley's citizens!
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Trails - Work with local private and public partners to build a strategic, accessible trail network paralleling within the right-of-way.
According to the US Department of Transportation, there are 300+ examples of safe, successful trails co-existing with active railroads.[3]
Check out our "Rails-WITH-Trails" tab to learn more!
