Rail Trails For NSW

What are Rail Trails?

Rail trails built on disused or abandoned rail corridors offer people of all ages a uniquely quiet, safe and easily graded path to enjoy. By opening up these corridors, visitors and residents alike can enjoy some of the most scenic regional areas in NSW while also learning of the important history of these areas and the rail lines that contributed to the development of this nation. They also act as conservation corridors.

Where are they?

Rail trails have been successfully developed in all other states of Australia and are well established in Europe and America. Victoria has over 800km of high standard rail trails.

Who uses them?

Locals use rail trails the most: to walk the dog or as a safe and pleasant ride with the kids. Visitors come: about 40,000 people visit north east Victoria’s rail trails each year, and each visitor spends on average $244 a day according to a La Trobe University study.

How do they protect rail corridors?

Some of the unused rail corridors in NSW have already been cut by freeways and other developments; all are generally neglected and undervalued. Rail trails will protect these corridors, making them highly valued assets of the communities they pass through. Rail trails keep corridors intact for the public use and available for future transport needs.

Walking and riding in safety while enjoying the regional towns and beautiful countryside of New South Wales: rail trails offer this possibility ... but are a dream at the moment on NSW’s many disused government rail corridors.

NSW is missing out

All the images on this page are from rail trails on government rail corridors in other states.

The people and regional businesses of NSW are missing out on the economic and health benefits that rail trails can deliver.

Overseas and in all other states of Australia rail trails attract both local and widespread use, help bind communities and are destinations for tourists.

Why no rail trails in NSW?

There are virtually no rail trails in NSW primarily due to complex issues unique to NSW. At times there have been concerns from some adjacent landholders, concerns addressed or unfounded on established interstate rail trails.

The Fernleigh Track Rail Trail, on a former Newcastle private coal line, is now a popular local resource and convincingly demonstrates that the people of NSW would enthusiastically adopt and use rail trails in NSW.

Short term goal: let’s get started

Feasibility studies undertaken for rail trails in several areas already provide convincing arguments for the benefits trails will bring. It is now time to establish initial pilot rail trails on these to conclusively demonstrate the benefits of regional rail trails here in NSW.

Northern Rivers Rail Trail (132km)

Between Casino and Murwillumbah in northern NSW.

Tumbarumba to Rosewood (21km)

Part of the proposed Riverina Highlands Rail Trail.

Gundagai (4km)

Part of the proposed Murrumbidgee Valley Rail Trail.

Show support for rail trails

Following the fantastic Launch of Rail Trails for NSW in March we now need to show the state government that there is broad support for the widespread development of rail trails in New South Wales before the railway corridors degrade further and are lost forever. Write to your local state member and ask for rail trails to be established in NSW.

You can find NSW parliamentarians’ contact details here

The Ministers to contact are:

Minister for Transport, Andrew Constance, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Stuart Ayres, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Minister for Regional Development, John Barilaro, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Shadow ministers to contact are:

Mick Veitch MLC, Shadow Minister for Primary Industry, Lands, Water and Western NSW, who introduced the rail trails bill, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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More information

See descriptions of the many potential trails around New South Wales.

These are also summarised in our Rail Trails for NSW Flyer

The Rail Trails for NSW team is dedicated to getting rail trails established in NSW. Also refer to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/railtrailsnsw