how far is land owned on each side of railroad tracks

In the High Line case, the federal government argued that six words in the easement (which a prior owner granted in 1932) justified the conversion without just compensation. Nonetheless, Rails-to-Trails takings cases often end up in court. In such situations, when a railroad abandons the line, it gives up its easement rights to use the land and “fee simple” – complete and exclusive – ownership reverts to the underlying landowner.Ĭourts have held that these landowners are entitled to just compensation because the landowners retained a reversionary interest in the land underlying a railroad right of way granted as an easement only. An adjacent landowner may have a reversionary interest in the land if the railroad right of way was granted to the company as an easement for the purposes of operating the railroad. When the line is abandoned, ownership can revert back to the underlying landowner, usually the adjacent property owner.

If a rail company no longer has use for its railroad right of ways, it may abandon the rail line. As a result, property owners affected by Rails-to-Trails conversions may be entitled to just compensation – despite the fact that their land was once encumbered by a railroad right of way. However, when the government converts an abandoned railroad right of way into a public trail, some courts have held that this constitutes a taking of the adjacent landowner’s property under the Fifth Amendment.

What constitutes a “taking” is not always clear, and in many instances this is one of the central issues in eminent domain and inverse condemnation litigation. When the government takes private property through its power of eminent domain, the Fifth Amendment requires payment of just compensation. Why Rails-to-Trails Conversions Require Payment of Just Compensation While Rails-to-Trails cases involve situations where the land may have been encumbered by an easement, conversion of that easement to a different use is a taking of the landowner’s interest in the land requiring payment of just compensation. The High Line case, like many others, focused on the adjacent landowners’ rights under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and a blog post. Trails established under the Rails-to-Trails Act can range from walking and biking trails to green spaces for public use, such as the New York City High Line which was the subject of a recent takings case in the U.S. In 1983, Congress enacted the federal National Trails System Act Amendment (known as the “Rails-to-Trails Act”) in order to preserve abandoned railroad rights of way by converting them into public recreational trails.

How far is land owned on each side of railroad tracks