Railbanking law (1983)
Congress amended the National Trails System Act to let railroads transfer abandoned corridors to trail managers while reserving the right to restore rail service. The provision, known as railbanking, became the legal engine for converting idle track into trails.
Hundreds of rail-trails opened across the U.S. over the following decades.
Rail-trails became a standard part of rural and urban recreation planning, with federal and state funding available for conversions.
Greenville's cycling trails almost certainly came through railbanking, which turned the town's abandoned rail corridors into permanent recreation land.
