In 2019 construction started & 2020 saw the first pilot rail trail in NSW to open to the public*
Rail Trails for NSW is fostering the development of rails trails on out of service and disused government rural rail lines.
We are keen to unlock the health, mobility, economic, heritage & community benefits of rail trails for people living & visiting regional NSW.
Tumbarumba to Rosewood opened April 3, 2020!
Turning the first sod on building the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail was marked with a community event in April 2019
Owen Fitzgerald with Justin Clancy (Local MP), Greg Aplin (Former Member) and Mayor James Hayes, turning the sod on the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail near Hyne Mill in 2019.
Newspaper image and quote from the Tumbarumba Times courtesy of Riverina Highlands Rail Trail
Excerpt: “The number of people in attendance and the variety of their backgrounds demonstrated the wide ranging interest in the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail project. Many may have been surprised at the level of interest garnered but we never had any doubts it would create such a positive vibe….it just goes to show how seriously this has been treated and the level of community support in many areas has been unwavering”.
Rail Trails for NSW thanks PathLessPedaled.com for their approval to use this short video. Where you hear or read ‘America’ it applies equally to Australia.
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Rail Trails for NSW are happy to see :
a) The passing of the amendment to the Transport Administration Act to allow the rail trail to be constructed.
b) To see the construction of pilot rail trails get underway.
c) The establishment of government relevant guidelines including bio-security, land management requirements, destination plans and tourism promotion.
d) The people in towns and districts with potential rail trails gathering local support, documenting feasibility and design requirements, producing business cases and economic development plans for their potential rail trail. Several groups are ‘shovel ready’, developing political support and developing applications for funding.
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Rail trails are shared-user paths along unused railway corridors. The tracks are usually removed and replaced with road base, gravel or a sealed surface. They can be used for walking, cycling, wheelchairs, pushing a pram and sometimes for horse riding. Motor vehicles, apart from mobility scooters and e-wheelchairs (plus emergency & maintenance vehicles) are excluded.
NSW has only recently created the first pilot rail trail in regional NSW. Up to then it was the only state in Australia without rural Rail Trails on unused NSW government routes.* With your help, we can create more in NSW and start to catch up on the decades old head start other states and New Zealand have.
Victoria’s Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail attracts over 30,000 bike riders per annum.
NSW has thousands of kilometres of unused but well-preserved railway corridors. Not all these routes will make great rail trails but many of these kilometres will enable the development of a world renowned network of Rail Trails.
Buildings and infrastructure on these corridors have fortunately been left largely intact, making them ideal heritage assets that are safe and great for walkers, runners, pram or wheelchair pushers, bike riders and others like birdwatchers, geocachers, picnickers and school groups.
The first Rail Trail in Australia was built in Western Australia almost 30 years ago. Since that time, every state in Australia except NSW has embraced the concept with over 100 active Rail Trails being commissioned. About 150 Shire Councils and community groups have been involved to help make them happen. Many trails have multiple Councils working side by side. NSW has been slow to start but with your help we can see a world class and valuable network of rail trails come into being. A network that will benefit not just the people near the rail trails but all of the residents of NSW.
