NEW YORK, NY June 14, 2005 —The federal government has cleared the way for the abandoned railway known as the High Line to become an elevated promenade.

The wheels of bureaucracy sometimes move somewhat more slowly than a speeding locomotive. When a railroad operator wants to turn a rail line into a trail, it needs permission from the federal Surface Transportation Board.

New York City petitioned the STB to transform the High Line in 2002, and CSX, which owns the 22-block line in and around the Chelsea neighborhood, joined the petition last year. Even after opposition faded away, it still has taken months to get the green light.

Now, the city can take possession of the line. Groundbreaking is expected later this year, and organizers hope that by early 2008 the public will be climbing the High Line stairs, emerging through a lily pond and strolling among trees and tall grass.