State buys 150 miles of old rail line to turn into outdoor trails

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana will nearly double the size of its network of rail-trail corridors with the purchase of more than 150 miles of abandoned rail line, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said Monday.\nThe agency has agreed in principle with owners of the former Penn Central Rail Line to buy the abandoned railroad corridors, it said in a news release.\nThe cost of the purchase and when it might conclude was not disclosed.\nThe 150 miles of new trail corridors are located in 39 counties across the state. Indiana currently has 173 miles of rail-trails.\n“The department’s plan is to give the land to local governments and not-for-profit groups for future trail expansions,” the agency said.\nCounties receiving portions of the trail will be Adams, Allen, Bartholomew, Boone, Cass, Clay, Clinton, DeKalb, Decatur, Delaware, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Hancock, Henry, Howard, Jay, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, LaGrange, Madison, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Morgan, Noble, Owen, Parke, Pike, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, St. Joseph, Tipton, Vigo, Wabash, Wayne and Whitley.\nThe agency has also received $1.25 million from the Lilly Endowment for additional construction on five multi-use trails. The money will match $5 million in federal funds.\nThe sites receiving funding are the White River Greenway in Muncie, the Cardinal Greenway in five eastern counties, the Monon Trail in Westfield, the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail from Middlebury to the Elkhart/LaGrange County line, and the Nickel Plate Trail in Howard, Miami and Fulton counties.