List of rail trails

Last updated

This is a list of rail trails around the world longer than 0.1 miles (160 metres). Rail trails are former railway lines that have been converted to paths designed for pedestrian, bicycle, skating, equestrian, and/or light motorized traffic. Most are multiuse trails offering at least pedestrians and cyclists recreational access and right-of-way to the routes. [1]

Contents

Asia

Israel

South Korea

Taiwan

Europe

Austria

A more complete reference can be found at www.bahntrassenradeln.de. [2]

Lower Austria

Upper Austria

Salzburg

Styria

Belgium

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Germany has 613 rail trails with a total length of 4,400 kilometres (2,700 mi) (as at September 2013). 80 more projects are being planned or under construction. These are some of the longest rail trails in Germany:

Hungary

Ireland

In planning/under construction

Isle of Man

Luxembourg

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

Jersey

In planning/under construction

North America

Bermuda

Canada

Mexico

United States

Oceania

Australia

Rails trails of significant length in Australia include:

NameStateLengthLocationAccessibilityRef
Walk icon.svg Downhill Bicycle - The Noun Project.svg MUTCD RS-064.svg Bicycler - The Noun Project.svg Emoji u1f699.svg Accessibility template icon.svg MUTCD RS-111.svg MUTCD RS-125.svg Car - The Noun Project.svg MUTCD RS-017.svg
Munda Biddi Trail Western Australia 1,060 km (660 mi)20 km (12 mi) west of Perth (northern end point) [22]
Great Victorian Rail Trail Victoria 134 km (83 mi)110 km (68 mi) north of Melbourne [23]
Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Queensland 161 km (100 mi)70 km (43 mi) west of Brisbane [24]
Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail Victoria 116 km (72 mi)250 km (160 mi) northeast of Melbourne [25]
East Gippsland Rail Trail Victoria 94 km (58 mi)280 km (170 mi) east of Melbourne [26]
Kilkivan - Kingaroy Rail Trail Queensland 89 km (55 mi)225 km (140 mi) northwest of Brisbane [27] [28]
Railway Reserves Heritage Trail Western Australia 82 km (51 mi)19 km (12 mi) east of Perth [29]
Great Southern Rail Trail and Tarra Trail Victoria 74 km (46 mi)130 km (81 mi) east of Melbourne [30]
High Country Rail Trail Victoria 65 km (40 mi)300 km (190 mi) northeast of Melbourne [31]
Gippsland Plains Rail Trail Victoria 63 km (39 mi)190 km (120 mi) east of Melbourne [32]
Ballarat-Skipton Rail Trail Victoria 57 km (35 mi)110 km (68 mi) northwest of Melbourne [33]
Mt Garnet to Lappa Junction Rail Trail Queensland 55 km (34 mi)190 km (120 mi) southwest of Cairns [34]
Denmark to Nornalup Rail Trail Western Australia 54.5 km (33.9 mi)415 km (258 mi) south of Perth [35]
The Reisling and Rattler Trail South Australia 54 km (34 mi)130 km (81 mi) north of Adelaide [36]
O'Keefe Rail Trail Victoria 50 km (31 mi)150 km (93 mi) northeast of Melbourne [37]
Old Beechy Rail Trail Victoria 50 km (31 mi)152 km (94 mi) southwest of Melbourne [38]

New Zealand

Pipeline trails

Trails similar to rail trails can follow other infrastructure, such as water pipelines.

Canal trails

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland</span>

These are lists of long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland, and include recognised and maintained walking trails, pilgrim trails, cycling greenways, boardwalk-mountain trails, and interconnected national and international trail systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennine Way</span> Long distance footpath in England

The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for 268 miles (431 km) from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes described as the "backbone of England". Although not the United Kingdom's longest National Trail, it is according to The Ramblers, "one of Britain's best known and toughest".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail trail</span> Railroad bed converted to a recreational trail

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarka Trail</span> Series of foot and cyclepaths in England

The Tarka Trail is a series of footpaths and cyclepaths around north Devon, England that follow the route taken by the fictional Tarka the Otter in the book of that name. It covers a total of 180 miles (290 km) in a figure-of-eight route, centred on Barnstaple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennine Bridleway</span>

The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenway (landscape)</span> Shared-use path or linear park with vegetation

A greenway is usually a shared-use path along a strip of undeveloped land, in an urban or rural area, set aside for recreational use or environmental protection. Greenways are frequently created out of disused railways, canal towpaths, utility company rights of way, or derelict industrial land. Greenways can also be linear parks, and can serve as wildlife corridors. The path's surface may be paved and often serves multiple users: walkers, runners, bicyclists, skaters and hikers. A characteristic of greenways, as defined by the European Greenways Association, is "ease of passage": that is that they have "either low or zero gradient", so that they can be used by all "types of users, including mobility impaired people".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tees Valley Railway</span> Former branch line in Northern England

The Tees Valley Railway was an 8+34-mile (14.1 km) branch railway line that ran between Barnard Castle on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway line between Bishop Auckland and Kirkby Stephen East, and Middleton-in-Teesdale via three intermediate stations Cotherstone, Romaldkirk and Mickleton.

The Monsal Trail is a cycling, horse riding and walking trail in the Derbyshire Peak District. It was constructed from a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, which was built by the Midland Railway in 1863 to link Manchester with London and closed in 1968. The Monsal Trail is about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long and opened in 1981. It starts at the Topley Pike junction in Wye Dale, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Buxton, and runs to Coombs Viaduct, 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Bakewell. It follows the valley of the River Wye. The trail passes through Blackwell Mill, Chee Dale, Millers Dale, Cressbrook, Monsal Dale, Great Longstone, Hassop and Bakewell. The trail has numerous landmarks including Headstone Viaduct, Cressbrook Mill, Litton Mill and Hassop railway station, and passes through six tunnels.

National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 66 is a Sustrans National Route that runs from Kingston upon Hull to Manchester via Beverley, York and Leeds.

Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1993 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire won the Benson & Hedges Cup. The club had been playing for one hundred and twenty-two years. In the County Championship, they won four matches to finish fifteenth in their ninetieth season in the Championship. They were eliminated in round two of the National Westminster Bank Trophy and came eleventh in the AXA Equity and Law League.

Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1997 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and twenty-six years. In the County Championship, they won two matches to finish sixteenth in their ninety fourth season in the Championship. They came fourteenth in the AXA Life League and did not progress from the group in the National Westminster Bank Trophy. They reached the semi-final of the Benson & Hedges Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simonstone railway station</span> Railway station in Lancashire, England

Simonstone railway station was located on the east side of Simonstone Lane, 0.75 miles (1 km) south of Simonstone centre and near Padiham, Lancashire, England. It was on a branch line of the East Lancashire Line, from Burnley to Blackburn.

The 2011 County Championship season, known as the LV County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 112th cricket County Championship season. It was contested through two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Each team played all the others in their division both home and away. Lancashire won Division One. The top two teams from Division Two were promoted to the first division for the 2012 season, while the bottom two sides from Division One were relegated. Aggregate attendances rose 9% to 531,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nidderdale Greenway</span>

The Nidderdale Greenway is a 4-mile (6.4 km) path that runs between Harrogate and Ripley in North Yorkshire, England. It uses a former railway line that ran between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge as its course. The route connects to other cycle paths including the Way of the Roses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heckmondwike Spen railway station</span> Disused railway station in West Yorkshire, England

Heckmondwike Spen was a railway station opened by the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England. The station was one of two in the town of Heckmondwike, the other being Heckmondwike railway station which was opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&Y). Both stations have been closed and the lines they served have closed too although the formations that they occupied have both been converted into greenways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spen Valley Line</span> Disused railway line in West Yorkshire, England

The Spen Valley Line was a railway that connected Mirfield with Low Moor through the Spen Valley in West Yorkshire, England. Opened up by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1847, with full opening to Low Moor in 1848, the line served a busy industrial and textile area and allowed a connection for trains between Huddersfield and Bradford. The line was absorbed by the London & North Western Railway, the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and British Railways on Nationalisation. A separate link between Heckmondwike Central and Thornhill that opened later and was known as the Ravensthorpe Branch, allowed through running to Wakefield and beyond. The line was closed down to passengers in 1965 with freight continuing sporadically until 1981. A Spur onto the former Leeds New Line from the Ravensthorpe Branch kept the very southern end open until the late 1980s. The majority of the route is now the Spen Valley Greenway cycle path.

References

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  21. http://www.fimevic.df.gob.mx/ciclovia/ciclovia.htm Archived 2014-06-27 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish only)
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  23. "Great Victorian Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  24. "Brisbane Valley Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  25. "Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  26. "East Gippsland Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  27. "Kilkivan - Kingaroy Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  28. Mcgrath, Jessica (28 March 2018). "WHAT'S ON: 20 things to do in the South Burnett this Easter". South Burnett Times. News Corp. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  29. "Railway Reserves Heritage Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  30. "Great Southern Rail Trail and Tarra Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  31. "High Country Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  32. "Gippsland Plains Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  33. "Ballarat-Skipton Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  34. "Mt Garnet to Lappa Junction Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  35. "Denmark to Nornalup Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  36. "The Riesling and Rattler Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  37. "O'Keefe Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  38. "Old Beechy Rail Trail - Trail Description". Rail Trails Australia. Retrieved 9 April 2018.