North Carolina Rail-Trails

North Carolina Rail-Trails works with communities across North Carolina to create trails for public use on active and abandoned rail corridors.

Rail-trails differ from other trails and greenways in several characteristics. The terrain for rail-trails is generally flat or gently sloped because the land was originally engineered for rail use. This makes rail-trails wonderful places to ride a bike and many are wheelchair accessible. Also, rail corridors are usually wide enough to accommodate many different types of trail use: biking, walking, jogging, horseback riding, dog walking, pogo-sticking … you get the idea.

Another positive attribute of a rail-trail is that it actually goes somewhere. Just as trains went from one community to the next, so does the rail-trail, creating a natural link between communities. Today, we can maintain these community links by utilizing existing rail corridors that are so perfectly suited for trails.

Does your community have an abandoned railroad? Would you like to have a safe place to play and exercise while preserving your community’s train heritage? Please contact NCRT if you would like us to help you create a rail-trail in your area.

Construction of Final Segment of American Tobacco Trail to Start by June
posted by curt on April 12, 2012

In early April Durham's City Council approved the Phase E contract with Blythe Construction of Charlotte. This will provide 10' of asphalt paving for the southern 4 miles of the ATT in Durham and construct a bicycle and pedestrian bridge which will span I-40. We also understand it will include a dual surface section from the Chatham County line to Scott-King Road. Durham has not released a specific schedule for the project but has previously indicated that construction would take ~13 months from the actual start of work. The contractor is expected to start work approximately June 1st. On April 10th Durham received news that NCDOT has approved the $7.7 million Phase E contract with Blythe. Please see a recent Herald-Sun article for more on this latest step. Public meetings to outline construction plans and the impacts on trail users during construction will be  held on May 14th, 15th and 17th. To keep up with schedules, trail closure dates,  and progress on the project check the Public Works Department's website periodically.

Presentation on Ecusta Trail Well Attended
posted by curt on March 31, 2012

About 400 persons attended the March 28th presentation on the economic and planning studies for the proposed Ecusta rail-trail. Many elected officials from the counties and cities along the line came out to hear the presentation and ask questions. The Hendersonville Times News and WLOS ran stories on March 29th. A fairly complete account of the meeting and current outlook can be found in a March 29th BlueRidgeNow.com article.

An additional series of Community Presentations is planned for several locations during April and May. In an effort to accommodate as many schedules as possible, these are all "drop in" type events. Several stations will be set up to allow closer access to maps and knowledgeable folks who have information to share. Any formal presentations will be short and repeated many times over the course of each event: 

Thursday, April 26- 5:15 - 7:45pm

Henderson County Public Library, Hendersonville Branch

Tuesday, May 1- 4:00 - 6:00pm

Homestead Small Business Center, Horse Shoe

Thursday, May 3- 4:00 - 8:00pm

Rogow Room at the Transylvania County Library, Brevard

Thursday, May 10- 5:00 - 7:30pm

First Congregational Church, Laurel Park

Saturday, May 19- 9:30am - 12:30pm

Etowah Public Library, Etowah

Winter 2012 Newsletter Has the Latest on Elkin Valley Rail-Trail Project
posted by curt on March 16, 2012

Our latest newsletter is out and contains a great article on the work of the Elkin Valley Trail Association to plan and organize efforts for the long-term development of a two county rail-trail. The trail will be built on a corridor formerly used by the Elkin & Alleghany RR in Surry and Wilkes Counties.  NCRT has been an active supporter of the efforts of the Association to gather local support and broaden their fund raising efforts. We also highlight our 2011 donors and preview our Leadership Circle, a new program for donors that can support us beyond the basic membership level.

NC DOT Meetings on Transportation Priorities
posted by curt on March 4, 2012

Over the next few weeks, North Carolina's DOT is hosting a total of seven public meetings around the State to get public input on how to spend transportation dollars. DOT is hoping to educate members of the public as well those serving on local Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations (MPOs and RPOs) on the financial challenges associated with addressing transportation needs for highways, bike/ped, transit, rail and other needs during the 2013-2022 period. These meetings provide a nice opportunity to tell the DOT just how important State non-highway funding is to rail-trail and greenway projects. For more info and the dates and locations of these "summits", please see the DOT Flyer.

Link to News Archive

To see all earlier NEWS items please go to our News Archives page.

We've added some new trail images to our Photo Gallery.