New Rails-to-Trails Bill Gives Landowners Veto Power, Forces Trail Sponsors to Pay for All Reviews

The new Rails to Trails Landowner Rights Act is a major shake-up for anyone who enjoys walking, running, or biking on converted rail lines. Essentially, this bill updates the rules for temporarily turning old railroad rights-of-way into public trails, adding several layers of requirements that shift power and cost onto the trail sponsors—which are usually states, local governments, or non-profit groups.

The core change is that before the Secretary of Transportation can approve a new interim trail use, the sponsor must get signed approval from every single adjacent property owner and guarantee them compensation at "at least the fair market value" for any costs or lost development opportunities (Sec. 2). They also have to prove they have the money to cover these costs before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) moves forward. This is a big deal: one single 'No' from a neighbor could stop an entire trail project dead in its tracks.

The New Hurdle: Mandatory Cost-Benefit Analysis

If a trail sponsor manages to get all the necessary landowner signatures, the process doesn't get easier. The STB must then initiate a 90-day public comment period and perform a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the trail's impact. This analysis has to cover everything from safety and security to biosecurity, food security, and the likelihood of the corridor ever returning to active rail service (Sec. 2).

Here’s the kicker for local communities and non-profits: the trail sponsor has to pay for the entire cost of these new review requirements, including the cost-benefit analysis. The STB won't even start the review until the sponsor sends the necessary funding (Sec. 2). For a small non-profit or a local parks department trying to convert a few miles of track, this sudden, mandatory financial burden could be a serious roadblock, potentially sinking projects before they even get off the ground.

Setting the Rules: An Advisory Committee Stacked with Landowners

Beyond the approval process, the bill establishes a new 11-member advisory committee under the Secretary of the Interior to recommend maintenance requirements for existing trails (Sec. 4). The composition of this committee is telling: six members must be landowners adjacent to existing trails, three must represent rail carriers, and only two are trail sponsors. This means that property owner and rail interests hold 9 out of 11 seats, giving them significant influence over the future maintenance standards for these public trails.

Furthermore, the bill specifies that members of this committee will not be paid a salary or reimbursed for travel expenses (Sec. 4). While this might seem like a small detail, it means only those who can afford to volunteer their time and travel costs will be able to serve, which could limit participation and further concentrate influence among those with greater financial resources.

What This Means for Your Weekend Plans

In short, this legislation makes the creation of new rail-to-trail conversions significantly harder and more expensive. For the public, this could mean fewer new trails being developed, longer approval timelines for projects already underway, and potentially higher costs passed on to local governments. While the bill aims to increase property owner protections and transparency—requiring all documentation to be posted on an online public portal (Sec. 2)—it does so by introducing financial and procedural hurdles that could effectively act as a strong disincentive for future recreational development.