The Rails to Trails Committee, recently formed as a subcommittee of the town’s Economic Development Commission, is focusing its initial efforts on a two-mile section of the former rail bed lying north of Haystack Mountain, between Route 272 and the North Canaan line.

This portion of the abandoned rail bed, which lies on land belonging to the state and the Norfolk Land Trust, will be known as the North Brook Trail, said David Beers, the committee’s chairman, at a meeting on February 11.

Grants will be sought to fund the permitting process, which is expected to be lengthy and expensive.

The goal is to make a wheelchair-accessible trail, paved with crushed gravel, that can be used by hikers, bicyclists and cross-country skiers.