Norfolk Southern Abandonment in the Shenandoah Valley Is Stayed

Published: November 2, 2026

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on October 22 postponed a Norfolk Southern exemption to abandon about 48.5 miles of railroad in the Shenandoah Valley. The line runs from near Riverton Junction in Front Royal to Broadway. The railroad has until November 3 to answer a request that the board hold the case.

Southern GP35 2662 at Riverton Junction at Front Royal VA on September 6 1969

Southern GP35 #2662 is seen here at Riverton Junction at Front Royal, Virginia on September 6, 1969, crossing the Shenandoah River and coming off the line to Harrisonburg. Roger Puta photo.

The notice and the pause

Norfolk Southern filed the notice on October 5, in docket AB 290 (Sub-No. 425X). It asks to abandon service from milepost B 51.0, near Riverton Junction in Front Royal, to milepost B 99.5 at Broadway. The line is in Warren, Shenandoah, and Rockingham counties. The decision marks each of those mileposts with a small tolerance.

On October 14 the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, and its subsidiary Manassas Gap Railroad LLC, filed a notice that they intend to offer to buy the line. The same day they asked the board to pause the abandonment. The motion points to the Union Pacific proceeding to control Norfolk Southern, docket FD 36873, where the foundation has described a responsive application it expects to file, seeking to have the line set apart from that deal. The merger review is already under way at the board.

The board called a housekeeping stay appropriate while it considers that request. The date the abandonment exemption would have taken effect is postponed. Deadlines for the environmental review, and for the offer to buy the line, are tolled until the board says otherwise. Norfolk Southern had already replied, on October 21, in opposition. The foundation answered on October 22. The order still sets November 3 as the date for the railroad to respond to the motion to pause the case.

Where the corridor stood

The Northern Virginia Daily reported on September 9 that a draft environmental report, dated August 19, said no customers had been served on the line for at least two years. Norfolk Southern told the county then that it did not presently intend to remove the rails, and that it was looking at a sale or a transfer. The Shenandoah County supervisors split 3 to 3 that night, twice, and sent no answer. On September 15 the Virginia Department of Transportation said it expects the railroad to obtain abandonment authority before the state finishes a purchase, and that abandonment would not by itself decide between a trail and a trail with the railroad left in place. The department did not give a price or a closing date.

In February the Commonwealth Transportation Board stepped back from an earlier plan. The Northern Virginia Daily reported on February 18 that the board voted 10 to 2 to rescind a January resolution. That resolution would have moved the corridor, and $35 million in state trail funding, from the Virginia Department of Transportation to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority and the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. The vote put the project and the money back with the transportation department.

Sources

Surface Transportation Board, decision, Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 425X), decided and served October 22, 2026. Norfolk Southern filed on October 5 to abandon about 48.5 miles, from milepost B 51.0 near Riverton Junction in Front Royal to milepost B 99.5 at Broadway, in Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties, Virginia. Each milepost is stated with a tolerance. On October 14 the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and Manassas Gap Railroad LLC filed an intent to make an offer of financial assistance and a motion to hold the proceeding in abeyance, tied to an anticipated responsive application in Docket No. FD 36873. The railroad replied on October 21. The foundation replied on October 22. The effective date of the exemption is postponed. Environmental and offer deadlines are tolled until further order. The response to the abeyance motion is due November 3, 2026.
The Northern Virginia Daily, September 9, 2026. Supervisors deadlocked 3 to 3 and authorized no comment. The draft environmental report of August 19 said no customers had been served for at least two years. Norfolk Southern said it did not presently intend to remove the rails or ties. As of that date, no abandonment application had been filed.
The Northern Virginia Daily, September 15, 2026. VDOT said it expects Norfolk Southern to obtain abandonment authority before a purchase is completed, and that abandonment would not rule out a rail-to-trail or a rail-with-trail. No price and no closing date were given.
The Northern Virginia Daily, February 18, 2026. The Commonwealth Transportation Board voted 10 to 2 to rescind a January resolution that would have transferred the 48.5-mile corridor, and $35 million in trail funding, from VDOT to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority and the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.

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Norfolk Southern Abandonment in the Shenandoah Valley Is Stayed

The notice and the pause

Where the corridor stood

Related reading on American-Rails.com

Sources