Improvements and developments on the O’Keefe Rail Trail in northern Victoria continue apace. Over the past year all the former low level crossings have been replaced with at level bridges and the sub-standard suspension bridge over Axe Creek has also been replaced with an at-grade bridge. When combined with surface improvements and better signage the rail trail is a far better experience now.
Please click here for a complete description of the O’Keefe Rail Trail.
The hard working Friends of the Bendigo – Kilmore Rail Trail have also just provided us with a summary of the following good news and activities
Now you can walk or ride all the way from the Bendigo Creek to the Campaspe River on an off-road trail. The rail trail now takes you across Crows Road and winds its way through the town to finish at the Campaspe River Reserve
Once they’d finished at Axedale, the contractors packed up and moved south to Heathcote where a combination of gravel and sealed path will run for approx. 3.2 km between Speed Street and Pink Cliffs Road is now under construction. Talk about getting the trail from Axedale to Heathcote is all very well, but actually seeing a bobcat at work is getting the residents excited. We’re also excited – it’s the first bit of new trail beyond Axedale since the first section of trail was opened in the early 1990s.
It’s been a long time since they were taken down and now station signs are returning. With the help of a council community grant, council, fundraising by the Friends and a lot of time and muscle power, we’re installing five signs to mark some of the major stops between Bendigo and Axedale. Travellers along the trail will then be able to see where the train once stopped at Rifle Butts, Rangelea, Strathfieldsaye, Longlea and Axedale. A sixth sign will also show where the Heathcote station was located. The Friends are planning to install the signs at volunteer working bees before the end of December 2012.
The 16 green gates that were the bane of cyclists and horses travelling along the original O’Keefe trail are now gone. Weren’t they part of the trail’s own history? Well, yes, but we don’t deny they were removed by Friends’ and council muscle power with some pleasure.
At North Bendigo the rail trail connects with the Bendigo Creek Trail to get users closer to the centre of Bendigo. However this involves an informal crossing of the busy five lane Midland Highway (Napier St). The Friends group regard this crossing as hazardous and are lobbying council and VicRoads to consider this in their planning
What is also needed is a better connection to the Bendigo railway staton. With the improved VLine rail service to Bendigo even day trips by public transport are practical, refer Summer 2011/2012 Rail Trail Connections magazine for an article by members doing just this. Again the Friends group have requested that the City of Greater Bendigo, in conjunction with VicTrack and V/Line, create the ‘missing link’ shared path from the Bendigo Railway Station to McIvor Highway/Baxter Street. This route could utilise sections of the existing railway reserve, to create an off road shared path. From here it becomes the existing ‘Back Creek’ trail which connects to the Bendigo Creek Trail, which then connects to the O’Keefe Rail Trail. They have shown the proposed new link on Google Maps here.
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Register for news updatesTour de Trail returns in 2023. Cyclists of all ages are invited to ride the Great Victorian Rail Trail (GVRT) for fun an...
Rushworth to Murchison Rail Trail Project (Waranga Section) Update The exciting 11km extension to the current Rushworth ...
A temporary trail has been established by the local community in Victoria’s Hamilton district, to connect the exis...
With the Tweed section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail reaching the conclusion of construction in March, walkers and c...
The Ringwood-Belgrave Railway Trail in outer Melbourne will become more usable with plans to extend it further north. Cu...
Gannawarra Shire Council in Victoria has recently released its Walking and Cycling Strategy which includes the commitmen...
Over the next six months the next step towards the potential development of the Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail (CMRT...
On 2 December 2022 the Queens Jubilee and commemorative tree planting event was held adjacent to the Mazlin Creek bridge...
Great news to finish 2022, the extension of the Great Southern Rail Trail in Gippsland, Victoria is finally complete. Th...
A proposal to bridge Toorak Rd for the Outer Circle Rail Trail is back on the agenda and under the wing of Victoria’s ...
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