Eastern Shore of Virginia

The historic Eastern Shore Railroad corridor has been preserved following approval from the Surface Transportation Board to railbank the inactive line.

By filing a petition for abandonment, the ANTDC actually initiated the process of “railbanking”, authorized under the National Trails Act and is commonly used to preserve a corridor that would have otherwise been abandoned.

This agreement ensures the right-of-way will remain in place for future rail operations.

Until then, the corridor can benefit the public as the Eastern Shore Rail Trail, while also accommodating regional infrastructure needs, such as the backbone of our broadband network, wastewater treatment force main, and potential future natural gas lines.