Connecting Indy’s east side with all of Indiana

History in the making

The Pennsy Rail-Trail is a proposed multi-use trail that will be a resource to both the transportation and recreation systems of the Central Indiana area. It will connect with the planned Cumberland Pennsy Trail from German Church Road at the east border of Marion County, and with the Pleasant Run Trail linking eastside neighborhoods with Garfield Park and ultimately the White River.

This trail will be an important link in the cross-state National Road Heritage Trail and serve as an essential eastern route of the Marion County Bicycle and Pedestrian System.

History made

The Pennsylvania Railroad was once known as the “Standard Railroad of the World.” The Indiana portion of the corridor, spanning 78 miles from Indianapolis to Richmond, was completed in 1853.

It was over this railroad on April 30, 1865 that the slain body of Abraham Lincoln was returned to Springfield, Illinois. After numerous acquisitions and name changes, the Pennsylvania Railroad began operating the line in 1921, which was later abandoned and its track pulled up in 1982.

The Pennsy Rail-Trail will use portions of the corridor between Pleasant Run Parkway to the west and the Town of Cumberland to the east. The primary trail corridor is approximately 5.5 miles between German Church Road and Ritter Avenue, with two options for connecting into the Indy Parks and Greenways System. In addition, the town of Greenfield has three miles of trails on the same railway and would like to connect with Cumberland.

As part of the re-development of I-465 over the Penn Central Corridor, the State of Indiana Department of Transportation developed a tunnel under the interstate to allow trail users to safely use the corridor. The section under study in this first phase will connect on both sides of the existing tunnel. A long-term vision for the corridor will consider all modes of travel, as well as the potential for infrastructure and utility lines. Connections with the current corridor development initiatives in Cumberland and Greenfield will help determine the benefits of a coordinated approach for the Penn Central.

Pennsy Trail, Indiana Trails web site

National Road Heritage Trail

Pennsy Trail Art Fair, Greenfield

Pennsy Trail planning page at Storrow Kinsella Associates (trail architects)

Overview of the Pennsy Trail in Acrobat PDF format (2003)