Rail trail

A rail trail or railway walk 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 rail corridor with active railways, light rail, or streetcars (rails with trails), 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 (bridges and tunnels), 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 Bermuda Railway ceased to operate as such when the only carrier to exist in Bermuda folded in 1948. Some of the former right of way were converted for automobile traffic, and in 1984 18 miles were converted to a rail trail, reserved for pedestrian use and bicycles on paved portions. The rail bed spans the length of the island, and connected Hamilton to St. George's and several villages, though several bridges are derelict, causing the trail to be fragmented.

The Kettle Valley Rail Trail in British Columbia uses a rail corridor that was originally built for the now-abandoned Kettle Valley Railway. The trail was developed during the 1990s after the Canadian Pacific Railway abandoned train service.

The longest rail trail in Canada is the Newfoundland T'Railway that covers a distance of 883 km (549 mi). Protected as a linear park under the provincial park system, the T'Railway consists of the railbed of the historic Newfoundland Railway as transferred from its most recent owner, Canadian National Railway, to the provincial government after rail service was abandoned on the island of Newfoundland in 1988. The rail corridor stretches from Channel-Port aux Basques in the west to St. John's in the east with branches to Stephenville, Lewisporte, Bonavista, Placentia and Carbonear.

Following the abandonment of the Prince Edward Island Railway in 1989, the government of Prince Edward Island purchased the right-of-way to the entire railway system. The Confederation Trail was developed as a tip-to-tip walking/cycling gravel rail trail which doubles as a monitored and groomed snowmobile trail during the winter months, operated by the PEI Snowmobile Association.

In Quebec, Le P'tit Train du Nord runs 200 km (120 mi) from Saint-Jérôme to Mont-Laurier.

In Toronto, there are two rail trails, the Beltline Trail and the West Toronto Railpath.

In central Ontario, the former Victoria Railway line, which runs 89 kilometres (55 mi) from the town of Lindsay, Ontario, north to the village of Haliburton, in Haliburton County, serves as a public recreation trail. It can be used for cross country skiing, walking, and snowmobiling in the winter months, and walking, cycling, and horse riding from spring to autumn. The majority of the rail trail passes through sparsely populated areas of the Canadian Shield, with historic trestle bridges crossing several rivers.