After the railroad was abandoned in 1984, the first public meeting to discuss creating a rail-trail in the rural countryside south of Pittsburgh was held in 1989 and drew a core group of 15 people, most of whom remain trail volunteers. They formed the Montour Trail Council, which purchased much of the remaining railroad right-of-way in 1991. Council members envisioned a trail along the railbed stretching from Coraopolis to Clairton. Over the years, efforts focused on acquiring funding and rights-of-way properties, joining trail communities, paving pathways, building trailheads and access areas, engineering or rehabilitating bridges, and marketing the trail to the public. The Council received multiple awards for trail use and planning. The first section of trail opened in Cecil Township in 1992, and the next year added miles in Robinson and Moon Townships, with many more trail miles added in the years since. Fundraising, trail construction, and maintenance have been accomplished through many hours of volunteer effort. Annual memberships, donations, and grants are a main source of monetary support to keep the trail operating, and the Council also receives revenue from utility easements, shale gas deposits, and a railroad line lease. The Montour Trail Council is an original member of the Allegheny Trail Alliance and has partnerships with other trails in the Pittsburgh region. More than 400,000 people use the Montour Trail each year.
