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]
Rail trails around the world longer than 0.1 miles (160 metres) include the following.
, Johor Bahru (Malaysia)-Tanjong Pagar (Singapore) KTM railway, known as the Green Corridor
, Thailand-Burma Death Railway A more complete reference can be found at www.bahntrassenradeln.de. [2]
France has rail trails with a total length of 6,800 kilometres (4,200 mi) (as at September 2024). More projects are being planned or under construction. These are some of rail trails in France :
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:
Rails trails of significant length in Australia include:
| Name | State | Length | Location | Accessibility | Ref | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||
| 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] | ||||||||
Trails similar to rail trails can follow other infrastructure, such as water pipelines.
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.
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".
A rail trail is a shared-use path on a 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.
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.
The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England.
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".
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.
A long-distance trail is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents except Antarctica.
National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 66 is a Sustrans National Route that runs from Kingston upon Hull to Manchester via Beverley, York and Leeds.
Padiham railway station in Station Road, Padiham, Lancashire, England was on a branch line of the East Lancashire Line from Burnley to Blackburn.
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 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.
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.
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.