NSW is getting closer to having another rail trail
The NSW Government Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has announced a $75,000 funding boost towards the Richmond Vale Rail Trail Project, west of Newcastle in NSW.
The money will go to Cessnock City Council to assist it in progressing a Development Application and other documentation for the project covering the Cessnock and Lake Macquarie sections. With designs for the City of Newcastle council area section already finalised, the new funding will allow concept designs and associated reports to be completed for the whole trail.
Cessnock City Council General Manager Lotta Jackson thanked the NSW Government for their support. “This project is identified under the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan as a high priority. This funding will allow Council to engage a specialist consultant to undertake a series of tasks that will be crucial to the success of the project overall.”
The 32-kilometre Richmond Vale Rail Trail is proposed to run along the former Richmond Vale rail line between Kurri Kurri and Hexham, and along the former Chichester to Newcastle water pipeline between Shortland and Tarro. The shared pathway would provide a link for cyclists between Kurri Kurri, Tarro, Minmi and Shortland that would enable them to undertake journeys without having to ride on the Pacific Motorway, Hunter Expressway or New England Highway.
The line was originally a private railway developed to transport coal from the Hunter Valley’s mines. It closed in 1987. Like the other major Newcastle rail trail, the Fernleigh Track, which was also previously a private coal line, the Richmond Vale line does not require an Act of Parliament to enable it to be turned into a rail trail. (Act of Parliaments are required to officially close a public railway in NSW and open it up for rail trail conversion.)
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More News
Paul Baker has cycled over 2,400 kilometers since the start of January. The 47-year-old set himself the goal of riding a...
Plans for a rail trail in the NSW regional city of Goulburn are a step closer, after the Goulburn Mulwaree Council voted...
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After the recent Rail Trails Australia annual general meeting, attendees were treated to discussion from legendary cycli...
The Queensland Government has just released its third action plan under the 10-year Queensland Cycling Strategy for 2023...
The restoration of the 770m long iconic Snowy River trestle bridge on the East Gippsland Rail Trail has not been immune ...
The plan to link the Great Southern Rail Trail and Bass Coast Rail Trail at Nyora has taken a further step as tenders fo...
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An enjoyable morning was had by nearly 350 people who attended the official opening of a new 11k section of the Mary to ...
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