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Register for news updatesLast week Rail Trails Australia’s Victorian Western District representative Geoff Barby held a South West Rail Trails Forum to bring together representatives of Old Beechy, Camperdown-Timboon, Port Fairy, Hamilton-Coleraine and Casterton to Branxholme rail trails.
The forum was held at Warrnambool Bowls Club and covered topics including turning the rail trail experience into a destination experience rather than a day trip (encouraging visitors to explore more than one rail trail in the region); bike and e-bike transport on Victoria’s V-Line trains; and rail trail signage and mapping.
According to Geoff, another hot topic was fostering relationships with rail trail partners. “Susan Brumby from Hamilton-Coleraine Rail Trail talked about the partnerships she’s built, and how she went about building those partnerships,” he said.
Geoff said that getting the 5 groups together in one location [with a RTA-sponsored lunch] was beneficial. “There was a lot of discussion on how their different rail trails operated: the challenges and the wins,” reported Geoff. “And seeing how they can use the collective knowledge – there’s hundreds of years of rail trails knowledge in that group!” says Geoff. “It was a sharing opportunity for the different groups: and it also gave them a bit of encouragement, seeing how the other rail trails are going.”
If you’d like support to organise your own forum, please contact Geoff on gb****@************rg.au.

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Stay up to date with the latest news about Rail Trails with our free email news.
Register for news updatesSouth Australia’s Barossa Council has received an additional $100,000 grant through the Government of South Austra...
Northern Rivers Rail Trail (NRRT) has done it again – winning gold at the 2026 North Coast Regional Tourism Awards...
Rail Trail Australia’s (RTA) Community Grants program 2026-2027 is open and taking applications now. The scope and fun...
Grand Ridge Rail Trail Committee of Management (CoM) has installed brand new information signs along the 13km rail trail...
Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT) trail manager Qld Department of Transport and Main Roads has just completed a 10km sur...
Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) is asking for public support to reopen Lapstone Tunnel in the lower Blue Mountains. R...
Show your support for Rail Trails Australia by purchasing from our range of branded Rail Trails Australia clothing inclu...
Rail Trails Australia (RTA) has opened early-bird registration for the 2026 Rail Trails Conference to be held in Canberr...
The Barossa Council in South Australia has installed 2 new bench seats along the Barossa Trail near Angaston. An inclusi...
Rail Trails Australia’s (RTA) Eastern Victoria representative John Birrell attended the July launch of the Great S...
The clearing of part of the Boyne Burnett Inland Rail Trail (BBIRT), from Barrimoon to Barrimoon Rd, towards Kalpowar, h...
Public consultation conducted by Armidale Regional Council in June 2026 resulted in 85% of formal submissions supporting...
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