"Our over-reliance on cars and $4-per-gallon gasoline has led us to dig a really deep hole for ourselves. The Purple Line is the ladder that helps us climb up out of this hole toward the light of rational land use, friendly commutes and a stable climate." Mike Tidwell, director of CCAN


Trails with Rails, A Proven Idea
updated: February 14, 2007

Transit opponents falsely claim the CCT alongside a trolley line will be unsafe and will "devastate" the trail. Here are the facts:

  1. Many trails have already been built alongside active rail lines. The National Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (see: rails-to-trails) has identified 61 trails alongside or within the ROW of active rail lines nationwide that they are attractive and safe. Their report is online at the Trails and Greenways website (see: Greenways)

  2. Locally, much of the Metropolitan Branch Trail is being constructed alongside the CSX/Metrorail Red Line corridor route between Silver Spring and downtown Washinton DC. Completed sections are enjoyed by hikers, bikers and others in Takoma Park and Brookland. Completion of the project is a priority of Washington DC, as well as Montgomery County, Maryland. See: Metropolitan Branch Trail

  3. The interim trail would not exist today if not for rail. Montgomery County purchased the Georgetown Branch ROW in 1988 under the Rails-to-Trails Act for $10 million. From the start, the plan was for this corridor to be used a joint transit/trail project. The Rails-to-Trails Act requires that the corridor be preserved for possible conversion back to rail use.
In 2003, Bruce Adams, who supported purchasing the ROW and creating the interim trail while on the Montgomery County Council, observed:

"The Capital Crescent Trail is a regional jewel, but it would not exist today had the council not voted in 1988 to purchase the right-of-way for the rail line", and
"For trail supporters to attempt to block the rail line by arguing that it will destroy the trail is just not playing fair."
(February 6, 2003 letter to Montgomery Gazette).


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