The Story of Railbanking
Section 8(d) of the National Trails System Act (“the Trails Act”) was enacted by Congress in 1983 in response to this crisis of corridor loss. It provides an effective mechanism for preserving railroad rights-of-way for future rail service and for energy efficient alternative transportation use, without imposing additional burdens on rail carriers. The law allows railroads to transfer inactive railroad corridors to qualified trail managers for interim use as trails, until such time as these rights-of-way are needed for future rail service on the condition that trail managers assume all carrying costs (liability, maintenance, and taxes) of the rights of way. This process is known as “railbanking.”
