 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2021) |
Confederation Trail is the name for a 470 kilometre recreational rail trail system in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. It was developed in the 1990s, following the December 31, 1989, abandonment of all railway lines in the province by Canadian National Railway (CN).
Comprising almost the total mileage of the historic Prince Edward Island Railway, development of the Confederation Trail was encouraged by a rails to trails advocacy group founded at a meeting held on August 3, 1989, in Charlottetown. Rails-to-Trails P.E.I, (now Island Trails) worked with local communities and individuals across the Island culminating in the decision by the provincial government to purchase the entire railway right-of-way from CN in 1994 after CN had removed all track. The vision of a multiuse linear park from one end of the Island to the other was embraced by the provincial government which manages operations through the Parks Division of Tourism while the Properties Section of the Department of Transportation handles all matters pertaining to the use of the trail other than public use as a biking or hiking trail.
In addition to provincial government employees, the development of the Confederation Trail was assisted by the Trans Canada Trail foundation, and by various community groups, volunteers, and Canadian Forces engineers who have volunteered in reconstructing abandoned railway bridges for recreational trail use across Canada in the past decade.
Since its completion from Tignish to Elmira in 2000, the Confederation Trail has proven a popular recreational trail for residents and tourists. Given its railway heritage, the trail has little to no grades and is well drained. Stone dust has been placed over the traditional railway crushed rock ballast, giving a surface suitable for walking/running, and biking. Horses are not allowed on the trail. The Confederation Trail remains a non-motorized trail for most of the year except during the winter when the PEI Snowmobile Association leases the trail from December 1 to March 31 each year for snowmobile use by permit holders; the Association provides grooming for snowmobiling.
The entire trail system is marked with kilometre posts and directional and interpretive signage, as well as benches, picnic table shelters, and scenic look-offs throughout. The trail winds through Prince Edward Island's scenic agricultural and forested landscapes and is frequently crossed by public roads.
Although highly unlikely in Prince Edward Island's case, the concept of "rails to trails" is based on the premise that abandoned rail corridors should be preserved as recreational trails in order to "rail bank" these transportation arteries should the need for a future conversion back to rail usage arise.[ citation needed ] Prince Edward Island will likely not see this occur as the connection to the North American rail network was removed on May 31, 1997, when the ferry system to the mainland that had been used for carrying rail traffic was replaced with the Confederation Bridge.
Confederation Trail is a geocaching hotspot with over 1600 geocache sites along the route.
As of 2020 [update] the Confederation Trail has several major routes:
Main trail
Branch trails
A large part of the railway right-of-way in the Stratford to Murray Harbour branch had been leased to local landowners in the early 1990s by CN prior to provincial ownership. The lease expired in 2015 when full trail development began on these remaining sections, including the rebuilding of several bridges.
Prince Edward Island is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. While it is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", "Birthplace of Confederation" and "Cradle of Confederation". Its capital and largest city is Charlottetown. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces.
The Confederation Bridge is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward Island with the mainland province of New Brunswick. Opened May 31, 1997, the 12.9-kilometre (8.0 mi) bridge is Canada's longest bridge and the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water.
The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extends over 24,000 km (15,000 mi); it is now the longest recreational, multi-use trail network in the world. The idea for the trail began in 1992, shortly after the Canada 125 celebrations. Since then it has been supported by donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, and all levels of government.
Joseph Atallah Ghiz was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He was the 27th premier of Prince Edward Island from 1986 to 1993, and was a justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island from 1995 until his death in 1996. He was the father of Robert Ghiz, the 31st premier of Prince Edward Island. Ghiz was the first premier of a Canadian province to be of non-European descent, since followed by Ujjal Dosanjh and Ghiz's son, Robert.
The Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR) was a historic Canadian railway in Prince Edward Island (PEI). The railway ran tip-to-tip on the island, from Tignish in the west to Elmira in the east, with major spurs serving Borden-Carleton's train ferry dock, the capital in Charlottetown, Montague and Georgetown and the original eastern terminus at Souris. A major spur from Charlottetown served Murray Harbour on the south coast.
A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcars, or with disused track. As shared-use paths, rail trails are primarily for non-motorized traffic including pedestrians, bicycles, horseback riders, skaters, and cross-country skiers, although snowmobiles and ATVs may be allowed. The characteristics of abandoned railways—gentle grades, well-engineered rights of way and structures, and passage through historical areas—lend themselves to rail trails and account for their popularity. Many rail trails are long-distance trails, while some shorter rail trails are known as greenways or linear parks.
Tignish is a Canadian town located in Prince County, Prince Edward Island.
Borden-Carleton is a town in Prince County in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. It is situated on the south shore fronting on the Northumberland Strait. The town was originally incorporated as a community on April 12, 1995, through the amalgamation of the town of Borden and the community of Carleton. The town of Borden opted to demote its status to a community in light of a declining tax base with the pending completion of the Confederation Bridge and the closure of the Marine Atlantic ferry service. Borden-Carleton became a town on July 31, 2012.
Alberton is a Canadian town located in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is situated in the western part of the county in the township of Lot 5.
Wood Islands is a rural farming and fishing community located in southeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island on the Northumberland Strait. It takes its name from several small forested islands, then located several hundred metres offshore in the Northumberland Strait. The community of Wood Islands falls within the larger PEI Township of Lot 62, which had a population in 2011 of 470 residents, a 13% decrease from the 2006 census count of 540. While the named islands are located on maps by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin: Karte Bellin, 1744: 'I a Bova' and Louis Franquet: Cartes Franquet, 1751: 'Isle a Bois', it was Samuel Johannes Holland who correctly surveyed and depicted the islands, about their basin. The 'European' settlement of Wood Islands began in 1803, but saw its most noted arrivals in 1807 with the arrival, after wintering in Pinette, of a large party of Scottish settlers from the Spencer.
Ascension Road, labelled Route 160, is a 2-lane collector highway in western Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is located 2 miles (3.2 km) NW of the community of Tignish. Its maximum speed limit is 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph).
The history of Prince Edward Island covers several historical periods, from the pre-Columbian era to the present day. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the island formed a part of Mi'kma'ki, the lands of the Mi'kmaq people. The island was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century. The French later laid claim over the entire Maritimes region, including Prince Edward Island in 1604. However, the French did not attempt to settle the island until 1720, with the establishment of the colony of Île Saint-Jean. After peninsular Acadia was captured by the British in 1710, an influx of Acadian migrants moved to areas still under French control, including Île Saint-Jean.
The Newfoundland T'Railway Provincial Park is a rail trail located in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Hillsborough River Bridge is a bridge crossing the Hillsborough River estuary between Charlottetown and Stratford in Queens County, Prince Edward Island. The current road bridge, built in 1962, replaced a 1905 rail bridge crossing the same span which was known by the same name.
Stanislaus Francis Perry was a Canadian farmer and politician in Prince Edward Island.
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in 1855.
The History of Charlottetown can be traced back to the original French military settlement established on the site in 1720. Over the years Charlottetown has grown to become the largest and most important city on Prince Edward Island.
Public Schools Branch (PSB), formerly the English Language School Board or ELSB, is a Canadian school district in Prince Edward Island.
The Central Ontario Railway (COR) was a former railway that ran north from Trenton, Ontario to service a number of towns, mines, and sawmills. Originally formed as the Prince Edward County Railway in 1879, it ran between Picton and Trenton, where it connected with the Grand Trunk Railway that ran between Montreal and Toronto. After being purchased by a group of investors and receiving a new charter to build northward, the company was renamed the Central Ontario Railway in 1882, and it started building towards the gold fields at Eldorado and newly discovered iron fields in Coe Hill.
