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Newtown Borough Council has voted to support the Rails-To-Trails proposal.
The council voted 6-0 Tuesday evening to endorse a resolution to support a plan to turn the long abandoned SEPTA Fox Chase-Newtown Regional Rail line into a maintained 8.4 mile trail that connects Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
The proposed trail would go from Newtown Borough through Newtown Township, a small portion of Middletown on the George School property, Northampton and into Upper Southampton. The trail would be leased by Bucks County through a long-term lease with SEPTA. The only community not yet to pass a resolution supporting the plan is Northampton.
Councilperson Perry Warren said the resolution states that support of the project is “contingent upon review of the financial obligations of the Borough in connection with said trail and upon the granting by Newtown Borough of any necessary approvals as required during the design, planning and development phases.”
In Montgomery County, a large portion of the old rail line has been converted into a walking and biking trail.
If all towns agree to the plan and the county moves forward, construction could be completed by 2018, Paul Gordon of the Bucks County Planning told council earlier this month.
The Fox Chase-Newtown line ceased regular service January 1983 due to declining ridership and the hassle of operating diesel-only trains along the tracks between Philadelphia and Newtown. Up until the late 2000s, SEPTA floated the possibility of restarting the train line but such goals have since faded.
