Shenandoah Valley Rail Trail update given to Front Royal Council

Shenandoah Rail Trail Partnership volunteer Dr. Don Hindman explains to the council that the rail trail is a public health project that will benefit area citizens’ mental and physical health and bring more tourism dollars to the region.

The Front Royal Town Council got an update at its Monday (Oct. 24) meeting on the Shenandoah Valley Rail Trail (SVRT),  from the Shenandoah Rail Trail Partnership, an unincorporated coalition of public, private, and non-profit organizations along the proposed Shenandoah Valley Rail Trail.

The SVRT is an ambitious project that will transform a nearly 50-mile stretch of track once owned by the Norfolk Southern railroad into a multi-use trail that can be used by outdoor enthusiasts and bicycle commuters alike.

The Shenandoah Rail Trail Exploratory Partnership Governance Council has representation from all the towns and counties along the route, in addition to the two regional Planning District Commissions and four regional nonprofits. Vice Mayor Lori Cockrell represents the town; BOS member Delores Oates represents Warren County.

Partnership volunteer Don Hindman, who chiefly worked at Valley Health’s Emergency Department in Woodstock, began his presentation by saying, “I’m wearing my white coat tonight because I see this as a public health project that will affect the mental, physical and economic wealth of the region.”  He said the trail  would appeal to a wide swath of the local population and tourists.

Hindman reported that the partnership is in negotiation with Norfolk Southern to purchase the property with a price tag between $15-25 million.  He said that the proposed project received $3 million from this year’s federal budget while $103 million was earmarked in Virginia’s annual budget this year for rail trails. Hindman estimated that the money will be evenly split between the two existing rail trails and this project, which would put over $343,000 into their coffers. The Commonwealth Transportation Board this year kicked in $1 million as well.

Though the line hasn’t carried trains through some of these towns for years, transforming the tracks into a nearly 50-mile trail could make it a recreational crown jewel for a region already populated with historic battlefields and parklands.

Hindman said that trail users would be able to branch out and experience other outdoor activities along the way, which would bring more tourist dollars to the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

Norfolk Southern, for years, was not interested in selling the rail land, but over time changed its way of thinking.  After being courted by the group, the company in 2020 said it would consider selling the rail land after all.   The company’s willingness to sell may have been tied to the closing of a Strasburg printing plant, which halted all train traffic on the Norfolk Southern tracks from Strasburg to Front Royal.

The original trail idea was for a nearly 39-mile stretch of single track running from the town of Broadway in Rockingham County north through Timberville, New Market, Mt. Jackson, Edinburg, Woodstock, and Toms Brook to Strasburg.  Following that plant closing, the partnership was delighted that the span of track beyond Strasburg, running east to Front Royal, might be available for purchase.

The Shenandoah Rail Trail Partnership website states that having Front Royal as the trailhead would put it about an hour’s drive on an interstate for nearly 6 million people.  “I think it would be wildly popular,” Hindman told the council.

State legislators agreed, adding a budget amendment during a 2020 fall session chiefly consumed with coronavirus expenditures. The measure, which was approved, prompted the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to conduct a feasibility study.

The public participated in surveys on the proposed trailway–garnering 9,283 responses in 2020. 94 percent of the respondents said they would use the path if it were built; 86 percent said they have used other trails in the commonwealth.

Thousands of miles of railways across America have been turned into trails that are easy to bike or walk because of their low grade. Virginia already has 49 rail trails–with about 419 miles–according to the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

In Virginia, portions of the 45-mile Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park were converted to trails in the 1970s. The popular biking and running trail, originating in Arlington, is maintained by revenue from utility companies that also use the corridor for transmission.

There are two existing rail trails that are state parks — the 57-mile New River Trail and the 31-mile High Bridge Trail.  The High Bridge Trail, near Farmville, brought 180,000 visitors and more than $6.5 million to the surrounding community within four years of opening, according to a 2018 economic impact study.

Hindman had even rosier economic news for the council, relaying that a more recent economic impact analysis projected that $32 million in revenue would be spent by tourists and trail users along the corridor.  The Shenandoah Rail Trail will hopefully be completed and open to the public in 2030.

Click here to watch the Front Royal Town Council Meeting of October 24, 2022.