Section 7 of chapter 44B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

The legislative body of a city or town that votes to accept sections 3 to 7, inclusive, may expend monies from the fund for the purpose of acquiring land held for railroad purposes to be used by the city or town  for recreational purposes as a rail trail.  Notwithstanding subsection (a) of section 12, land acquired pursuant to this paragraph may be subject to any property interest, including restrictions or reversionary interests, required to be held by the grantor or the United States pursuant to the National Trails System Act of 1968, codified at 16 U.S.C. section 1241, et seq.  Notwithstanding any provision of the definition of “real property interest” in section 2 to the contrary, land acquired pursuant to this paragraph shall be considered a real property interest for purposes of this chapter.