Some of the funds raised in this year?s End-to-End walk will help pay for American consultants to visit and suggest ways to improve the Railway Trail.

Two consultants from America?s Rails to Trails Conservancy will come in early next month to start a process which will also involve public feedback and a published report.

Bermuda Railway Trail Vision Project chairman Stephen Davidson was involved in the organisation of the End-to-End marathon which is chipping in around $30,000 to $50,000 to kick start the project.

He said: ?We have been around for 17 years and given money to a range of local charities, this year the End-to-End decided to put some of the funds to work for the Railway Trail.

?We use it every year, this year we had 1,600 walkers. We felt it was a great opportunity to do something very close to the hearts of the people who participated in the walk.?

He said there had never really been a vision for the trail although there had been a Government board overseeing its work before it was designated a national park.

Mr. Davidson, a Bermudian, spent years living in Washington D.C. which is surrounded by former railway trails which have been turned into bike lanes and hiking trails.

?There?s a lot of interest in America in railway trails, not just from the perspective of having somewhere nice to walk but research has shown people need more places to exercise from the health perspective of the community which is very urbanised.?

He said Bermuda was in a similar situation. ?People want the opportunity to move around.?

Walkers, particularly women, said they enjoyed using the railway trail during the End-to-End but didn?t always feel safe at other times.

The Bermuda Railway Trial vision project hope that if conditions are improved more people will use it which will make everyone feel more secure.

Other problems include people taking land from the trail, poor drainage, overgrown areas and broken sections of the trail.

He said the boardwalk added near Shelly Bay was an example of what could be done. Other ideas include putting in benches and improving viewing areas and putting in better signage.

The project could take up to ten years to complete said Mr. Davidson. Ideas will be sought at public meetings before a formal report is drawn up.