Margo Davis’s plea to the Prime Minister hits the spot, as unfortunately councils need to apply for grants for just about everything. This is time-consuming and doesn’t allow for long-term planning. Councils seem to have a hard road to hoe. However, maybe it is one way of making sure the council doesn’t spend ratepayers’ money willy-nilly.
Both Armidale and Glen could listen more to their constituents, particularly when it comes to contentious issues such as a rail trail. Touted as a tourist attraction, I find it difficult to suggest more than 1% of the population would be in favour, and of those, very few would understand the huge cost to the councils – not only in removing rail lines and creating the track (bitumen, etc.) but also in keeping the track free of noxious weeds and rubbish.
And for what? Do councils think that tourists will come flocking to stay a night or two in these areas? For free? Governments of all stripes worship the “tourism dollar,” but does it make sense? There are some brilliant bike trails in our area. We need more like a sick headache.
What those towns north of us need is a proper rail service. With the ’32 Games looming, now is the time to get that border crossing fixed – for the future of this country, not just the future of those north of us, or indeed south of us, as rail freight is king.
The crown has slipped in recent years. It’s time to put it back on his head – aka the agenda.
Got something on your mind? Go on then, engage. Submit your opinion piece, letter to the editor, or Quick Word now.
No one in their right minds would spend a million dollars per mile for a bike path, that’s insane. It has little benefit to locals, who would prefer safer pedestrian routes and footpaths and cycleways to get to school and the shops from their homes to the cbds safely. There’s no public transport out of town, no public transport to bring in seniors or disability or any other tourists who don’t drive a car. This bike path nonesense needs to be put to bed and buried, so many other things before we waste tax payer dollars and up everyone’s rates to pay for this ridiculous fantasy of goat trail without rails.
Tanya Langdon Why won’t Mayor Sam Coupland answer my question why near to half-a-million dollars has been allocated to preliminary works in the 2025-26 ARC budget, when the grants have been lost for what is easily the most divisive local issue?
Michael Hargreaves it’s insane that councils who constantly struggle with budgets amongst residents who don’t want nor need anymore rate rises, are even considering entertaining a 200km bike path that is admittedly grant dependant on its life and times, the project neither the council nor the ratepayers can afford.
Councils around the country have knocked them back on affordability. Those that have them are watching the bills and headaches pile up.
There’s simply better places to build bike trails and better broader ways to share big handfuls of money throughout the region to attract and entertain tourists. A rail trail here will be little and no benefit to anything or anyone. They’re money pits for burning money, and the councils don’t have money to burn, especially while roads lack maintenance, garbage piles up, and the next drought is looming and there’s dams to fix and pipes to be laid. Not to mention REZ on the horizon.
Not a good time for gambling money on a bike path that everyone’s pretty much had enough of entertaining and seeing money gets wasted on. If it ten years they haven’t done it, time to move on.
Tanya Langdon I agree. Economists know full well of the perils of landlocking an area without a port that has poor rail and road infrastructures and expensive air transport. This cannot be denied or defied. Perhaps we should ask councillors to lodge personal guarantees to make up post-grant shortfalls to cover future maintenance costs? What do you reckon Sam? Are you up for it? Shouldn’t be a problem if you’ve got confidence in the figures. Or are you a man of straw? Prove the detractors wrong with a personal guarantee and an irrevocable 20 year Council caveat over your assets. There’s no honour in spending other people’s money on self-ingratiating projects.
The article has no proof of assertions made and fails to mention the very poor business case for reinstating rail given the enormous costs. People would come from the other side of the planet to ride the rail trail if properly promoted
Alan Russell because it’s everyone’s dream to travel the world to cycle beside a busy highway, yea I’m sure they’ve got better plans on their bucket list to tick off.
Alan Russell the fail trail would be right at the bottom of the list, besides the tiny councils here don’t have any money to go promoting anything lol they’re broke, flat out paying the bills they got and dealing with what they should be dealing with and they can’t raise the money for the fail trail and they can’t make it cost neutral to rate payers and the government has guaranteed nothing. A great big trail of hopes and dreams and wishes. That’s a failed business plan right there
Alan Russell there is not one report with verifiable data that shows any benefit from a “rail trail”. Plus keep your nose out of local issues that do not impact you!
David Renn that comment is untrue and btw I am a local as you put it
Alan Russell so show me the report, not some opinion piece but one with verifiable figures. You’ll have trouble as there is Not One!
Steve Hodges please do go away and stay in Sydney! All you fail trailers could have solid info to back your argument but you don’t, as there is none! It’s all groundless fairy tale opinion.
David Renn – funny how all those rail trails have been a boon for their towns. Take off your idiotic and naive train blinkers. Even you know the train is not coming back
Alan Russell – These guys do not acknowledge the truth
Steve Hodges prove it!
Steve Hodges, how do you know what others know?
David Renn so true, even the fail trail review for NSW admits that stats are completely flawed due to COVID, and the rest of the fail trails are showing clear drops in patronage. Safe to say the electric bikes and scooters aren’t catching on, the only thing they’re doing is catching fire, councils are sick of bike share schemes they’ve failed time and time again and only ended up in creeks and landfill. How much more money needs to be thrown upon the dumpster fire.
Time to end it. The councils here can’t afford it, the NSW government and tfnsw won’t commit to the funding that’s needed. Far too risky.
That’s the problem with rail trails, the small percentage of bike riding fanatics pile in the day they cut the ribbon for the free ice cream and they never seem to return, off on another tick and flick adventure, taking photos of their bikes leaning against a sign. Numbers seem to fade fast.
Alan Russell what a load of nonsense! The rail trail will struggle to attract people from anywhere once the novelty of a new trail wears off!
Paul McCann do some research and you will find you are ill informed
Just because you believe something doesn’t mean you are correct
Btw I use a rail trail everyday along with thousands of others walkers skaters runners e-bikes recumbent trikes bikes with people of all ages
So what rail trail do you use and where can one find a usage and operation cost report?
Alan Russell yet more nonsense from you!
No one in there right minds would spend millions on a rail line for a hand full of passengers, if it’s such a good idea why isn’t this line open now, your car killed passenger trains, inland Rail killed the remote chance of anything happening as far as freight goes, Inland Rail is a good example of the cost of rail and it’s obscene
Phillip Davidge why dont you think we need to be seen as important enough to have a train service like the city people have we think we are. It’s the country people who keep this country alive.not much grown in the city . It’s full of office workers . The business people who sell to the country see costs a whole lot different to what will be very much the costs in road for transport increases. Ageing people need to be better looked after .with public transport. Medical treatment is needed as well ,and that’s not been addressed .so we keep on saying get this up to speed .
Joy King what % of those seeking medical treatment from Armidale travel by train to their Tamworth and/or Newcastle appointments?
Graham Parsons we have no idea of what %travells for treatment from Armidale. As there is a train from Armidale to Sydney that would be able to use if needed for that treatment .as they are in newengland health area .,and Newcastle. A long before drive to those places by car .remember it’s for treatment . We would not be use to the traffic on those drives . Newcastle is a city .
Joy King I know many people who drive or are driven to Tamworth (daily) and beyond for medical appointments. I do not know anyone who travels by train. There are many reasons for this including the timing of the trains in and out of Armidale. Not a priority if no one uses the service.
Phillip Davidge You make some very good points. What you’re omitting, however, is the tourism benefits (not to mention freight) of rail – https://www.vintagerailjourneys.com.au/experiences/north-coast-rail-tour-of-the-nsw-coastline/ As any sportsperson will tell you, play the ball where it’s going to be and not where it is. The exorbitant extra 20% Armidale take on fuel will make car travel out of reach for many locals in the future – if it isn’t now. Moreover, tourists aren’t going to waste money on fuel getting here just to ride their bike a couple of kilometres when there’s bigger bang for buck – attractions – to be had along the coast. Sam should be taking on the local fuel distributors, just as a former Labor government did in Queensland. If he did, he might just get the attention wanting pollies crave. Last week I purchased diesel for $1.60/ltr on the Gold Coast.
Phillip Davidge another that has no connection to the local issues! Your opinion is worthless if you do not live in this area
David Renn and you want my tax money to pay for a dream
Phillip Davidge your tax money paid for ferries that won’t go under bridges, trains that won’t go through tunnels etc and will pay for a pathetic rail trail that nobody will use. So get off your high horse matey!
Phillip Davidge we continually pay for dreams in Sydney. Plenty of public transport running there 24hours a day without bums on seats to fill them up and pay their way. Billions of dollars for tunnels, extravagant railway stations, bus stations, all new buses.
And what do we get here?
Potholes
Phillip Davidge you mean a rail line that could connect Toowoomba to Sydney that’s a few more then a handful of passengers, and don’t forget the freight.
Cars are becoming less and less affordable, families are dropping from two cars to one car, licences are hard to keep, especially if you have health issues and fines are plenty. Times change we are no longer a car central world anymore. Truck driver shortages, freight backing up. Transport companies going broke by the day and we keep paying the price for freight at the check outs.
Tanya Langdon organisations and family members taking patients to Tamworth on a daily basis from Armidale confirms that a daily train service does not meet community needs. The reality of the convenience of door to door transport and timing sees train travel from Armidale not a priority for residents.
Graham Parsons from Armidale? What about the people as far up as the border? Tenterfield, Deepwater, Glen Innes. Having community transport cars running people around is not sustainable into the future of an aging population, running sick family members and neighbours around means you take time off work, that’s money, run up the ks on your car that’s money, the pittance of transport subsidy hardly covers the fuel, the biggest barrier to health on the new England as found by new England health is distance and travel.
Tanya Langdon if it does not meet the needs for the Armidale and surround community, then why would it be any different for the other communities to the border? Why is it not sustainable into the future, it is happening on a daily basis today?
Graham Parsons ask the patients and volunteers about how well community transport is, patients putting off or delaying appointments, not enough volunteer drivers, volunteer drivers getting over worked, and an ever growing aging population of people with hospitals getting budget cuts and forcing people to the larger towns and cities for medical. Better diagnosis in modern times and early detection of disease and things like cancer and heart issues ECT, means more and more people will seek treatments and need to go to the bigger hospitals. Tele health won’t cover everything in the bush. The current model is not sustainable.
Tanya Langdon again if the train service does not attract people to use it today, with all of the stresses you state, what needs to change for the existing service to be supported?
Graham Parsons better services and more frequent services so the public transport is usable.
In its current form you virtually only have a one way ticket, to go anywhere to meet an appointment time, pretty much ensures you need to make an overnight stay, if not a three day adventure.
It’s like the’ but we already have buses,’ we have no cross border bus services, limited services east, and once a day return service south.
Make the public transport system usable and people might actually use it and keep community transport services for those who need assistance or are in vulnerable circumstances.
We can’t keep using community transport services up as a public transport system. It’s not good enough, it’s not fair, and it’s not sustainable financially nor logistically.
Tanya Langdon it is usable between Armidale and Tamworth but people are not using it.
Graham Parsons and what about the people north of armidale? New England does not begin and end in Armidale, it starts at the border of Qld. It includes people in wallangarra Jennings, who don’t even have a bus service as it terminates at Tenterfield.
Do they not matter? Would they not put bums on seats? What about extra services when events are on? Night services? Weekend services? The services are not servicing new England. From the north, The services involve get on a bus, your luggage ECT, get off bus, get on train, very inconvenient and not streamline. Cumbersome. Just because there are services does not mean they are usable, easy to use, convenient, timely.
So they put on crap services then don’t get high patronage and it’s justified. Not good enough. No one could travel village to town to city for work. Have to take the car. Try make an appointment for medical or business, timetables won’t do it, again take the car. And so we are car dependant because the services are absolute shyte.
Tanya Langdon you are missing the point, if people from Armidale area do not use the existing services, then why would the powers invest in re-establish the service further north. Your statement could be made for every village that is not on a train line with in numbers is most of state. Reality v dreaming.
Graham Parsons no Graham you’ve missed the point. Services need to be usable to be used. Not only does the north of armidale have no services and nothing that connects from as far as Qld stanthorpe to the border, the services from Armidale are pretty thin to. Thats the reality. Put decent services up that service the new England and cross the border into southern downs and beyond and watch the numbers change. What we have now is not a public transport service, it’s a joke.
Patients I interact with love the services provided. Most do not have the mobility to use any public transport hence the reality for most is the use of either private or community motor vehicles.
Graham Parsons if you have mobility issues, buses are useless, hard to get in, hard to sit down, hard to get out, so yes I can see why they would prefer not to use them.
Trains are much better for those with disabilities. Easy on easy off. Roll on roll off. Much better for walking devises and wheelchairs.
Tanya Langdon hence they will need 4 car trips and 2 train trips for a specialist or cancer appointment verse 2 car trips. This fact is the reason the train service from Armidale to Tamworth is not supported by the Armidale and district community.
Graham Parsons community transport and medical transfer services should be kept for those with high needs. These services shouldn’t be getting overwhelmed and abused as general public transport. Citizens of new England and southern downs should be free to come and go and travel as they need or feel and not have to go through rigorous bookings and trying to juggle with times days appointments or organising community service vehicles, or making friends family or neighbours take days off work to travel them around. And some people who drive are driving beyond what they should be driving, this puts all road users at risk. The public transport services here are simply just not good enough and most definitely don’t meet modern needs and requirements.
Tanya Langdon the citizens of New England are no different to most of the citizens outside the capital cities in respect of services not being ideal. If you think a train service is the answer and will be delivered you are dillusional.
Graham Parsons if you think the current services are adequate and acceptable then your the delusional one.
Tanya Langdon yep, those who are not delusional live life and accept reality.
Graham Parsons the reality that the services here are not good enough. And you think that’s ok. 🙄
Sadly because of the lack of services alot of people are not living life and no I don’t accept that when life on the new England could be better. That’s reality.
Tanya Langdon the services have never been and never will be adequate. My response in this discussion is that train service has not been and will not be supported by the communities for the reasons previously stated. So banging on about them being the solution is a waste of time.
Graham Parsons Graham well over 10000 people have signed a petition to reinstate train services, that was handed to Parliament, so it is well supported by the community.
Tanya Langdon will not deliver what you have been complaining about as a daily service does not meet community needs today.
Graham Parsons how do you know what community needs are? How does anyone truely know what community needs are? No councils have bothered to ask what the community wants or needs, and only until now has the government bothered to do transport inquires, still nobody has asked the questions, of what the community needs wants and desires. So nobody really knows. There’s been no genuine feasibility study into the rail and wether it’s viable or useful, we just seem to go on the context of fifty years ago it closed down so why bring it back? Alot has happened in fifty years. Alot has changed in fifty years, and alot will continue to change.
Phillip Davidge, the Inland Rail (yet to be completed) lies generally 200kms to the west of us in New England and doesn’t assist us. What gives someone in Wagga the right to tell New England residents what they can and can’t have?
Phillip Davidge the same applies to rail trails. Millions of dollars spent on a facility that only a few will use once!
Paul McCannMedia: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1890383668176145&set=p.1890383668176145&type=3
They end up as a council asset, which end up throwing the books into deficit
Gary Verri Interesting that in Victoria and Queensland councils have pushed for funding to extend and complete their rail trails. Councils know they need rates from businesses and working people. If you want to thriving businesses and jobs you need to use the assets you have productively , and in New England that includes the disused corridor.
When I started my business in Armidale in the early 70’s everything came by train. No trucks
Mal Peters And far fewer accidents . The roads were in better shape as it didn’t consumes so much of the overall “pie “, in order to maintain them from the heavy traffic and vehicles now ever present on our roads. And regional transport was much easier for people that didn’t have their own vehicle. The rail system had infinite advantages and in many respects was vastly less costly on an overall basis . All things considered !.
Garry Reynolds Rail was only cheap because of heavy subsidies. It was inefficient because freight needed expensive multiple handling, requiring even more subsidies.. It was similar with passengers., while doing nothing a coach cannot achieve at less cost. The costs of maintenance was higher because North of Armidale you needed to maintain two transport networks, the highway and the rails . The highway was heavily trafficked because for two long successive governments developed the New England as the main Federally funded interstate highway,which was the case until about twenty years ago when the Pacific began to be duplicated. The freight could have gone from Sydney to Brisbane by rail but again with the greater efficiency of trucking at either end ,trucks were and are faster and typically cheaper.
The problem now is that too many so-called public transport advocates in New England have focussed on the train, and road connections between local towns and especially to Stanthorpe and so onwards to Brisbane have been ignored.
Jenny Wild – the same dreamers and trail haters are out as usual. No facts, no research just made up nonsense.
Steve Hodges yes, but I think that their lack of understanding is becoming more obvious to those who have been watching this development. They will ramp up the nonsense as the trail gets closer to construction, mostly because they fear that they have lost all credibility.
Both councils claim the rail corridor is a “wasted asset”. Yet both councils have road corridors which are their responsibility to maintain yet do nothing. They have their own “wasted assets” which would make great recreational trails leading to locations far more interesting then the rail trail.
Paul McCann it’s the same old argument trains v bikes. 🙄
The truth to the matters are, there are far better places to build tourism cycleways to attract tourists then the railway corridor, and the other facts the grant funding for the trail without a rail is just not there, the treasures tin has no money for maintenance, upgrades or anything. So the government won’t support the project and the council can’t. To pull on the rail trail project is just plain and simply wreckless. A big idea with no foundations and no backing. A dream.
One fail trail in Victoria that won’t be getting off the ground. Tragic…
https://www.councilnews.com.au/vic/2025/04/28928938-constraints-costs-force-cancellation-of-kerang-koondrook-rail-trail
Steve Hodges, here’s an idea, found your own ‘paper’ if you don’t like the content of this one.
David Good – Listen to the all wise train driver. Lets listen to him. He is so smart with a vision for the future. He is a
director in a train company in the northern rivers begging for crumbs.
Says the all wise solicitor? I am the director of no company by the way.
David Good not all articles. But I guess there is some truth in that 🥴
The reality is, there is no plan for the sustainable future of a bike trail without a rail, it’s grant dependant, we’ve seen grants fall time and time again. You can’t build and sustain something on hopes and dreams, you need financial.foundations and assurity into the future for maintenance, repairs and upgrades. Something the council dosnt have and the NSW government won’t commit to. Without strong financial security and guaranteed ongoing funds, it really is just an unachievable dream that will become a nightmare.
Steve Hodges- it’s called airing all media not just what some may want them to air,
If you want watered down media then return to mainstream media, rather than independent media – as in this news site.
I personally will never understand how better transport in and out of Armidale and the New England is not a good thing for Armidale and the New England ???
I am sick of hearing $peed kill$ by city centric govts when there is no viable alternative to travel.
Planes don’t and can’t provide transport to every little community.
I believe a person should be able to do a real licence that is actually hard to get and then be legally able to do a faster speed limit especially in good conditions.
I am sick of seeing slow drivers who magically speed up when I go to overtake them.
I support the return of the rail line to the New England – for the taxes the people of New England / northern tablelands pay, they deserve better services and infrastructure.
1 of the gripes I have as a Hunter Valley resident is that to go north on the train, yeah I can get to Armidale, what about Brisbane, first I have to go south, to then go north.
I see planes as expensive and don’t like flying.
I don’t support or associate with either side of politics as neither side do anything for me.
I consider myself disillusioned with politics.
AHhhh the serenity! Nothing better than the perpetual Rail Trail v Trains war.
“Prove it, and get stuffed! Nah, you prove it and you get stuffed!” Yay for stimulating discourse.
Annabel Doherty Feel free to write your own thoughts on any subject you like to Engage.
Climate change is the greatest existential challenge of our age – perhaps of any age, if you measure it by the scale of the societal changes necessary to mitigate it and adapt to a warming world. Time is running out, and the latest science isn’t in our favour. But while evidence is clear that we can only avoid the worst-case scenario if we slash our greenhouse emissions and reduce man’s footprint on the planet. In solving the very complex Climate Change equation the transport sector faces total restructuring in coming to terms decarbonisation and the catastrophic footprint that’s taking place. Ignoring this rather than excepting the science where a much bigger emphasis must be placed on rail networks sooner than later if we are to confront transport issues in this region.
Brian Flint The only problem is regional rail in Australia is not energy efficient. The Legislative Council Inquiry into the closure of the Northern Rivers was advised of that by the rail authority in 2004. And that was before the availability of RV buses which like its light rail run hundred of KMs in ACT on fully renewable electic power.
Peter Hatfield Planing for net zero for the transport sector is a very complex issue, and people like yourself that hold that rail has no place in this region going into to future and argue that bike tracks are more important live in a fools paradise.
Even if they started to rebuild the line, its highly doubtful it would be operating in time for the 2032 Summer Olympics. Now as for the claims we already have plenty of bike trails in the region, these aren’t official trails and are curated by local cyclists who do the long trrks, not exactly ideal for tourists and families, which rail trails are designed for. Now this opinion piece incorrectly claims that the trail would be bitumen, as to stop weeds. We’ve gone over this point numerous times. There are various businesses and organisations that have committed to donating time and money to keep cost of maintenance down. I see the regular nay-sayers are continuing to push their narrative that against the trail, making misleading claims, or outright denying the success of trails in other regions.
Jenny Wild That’s fundamentally not true. This is on Engage, our opinion site, where anyone can put their case (as long as it is not defamatory or offensive). You can write your own piece for Engage rather than making unfounded ill-informed cheap shots in Facebook comments any time you like.
New England Times not cheap shots just stating the situation as I see it, you can do that here on Facebook as well I’m told.
See the thing I find hard to understand is many people moan and complain that other places have more amenities, activities, things to do in town, and predominantly they blame councils inaction for the situation. Then here is someone with an out of touch axe to grind and all of a sudden councils are in the firing line because they spend time applying for grants.
It is hypercritical, no where in the said opinion piece does it say that there is no rail line between Walangarra and Ballandeen. Perhaps you recall that Brisbane has hosted the Commonwealth Games and Sydney has hosted a very successful Olympics since the rail line was abandoned. If the “logic” was thought through it would become obvious that these events do not increase population in our region, nor have they been a catalyst to reopen the GNR.
The problem is the people advocating for the reinstatement of rail services sight all manner of excuses for their actions. Things like getting freight off roads, providing public transport, and now getting to the Olympics. None of these things are either sensible or realistic. There is a bus that is far more reliable than the train, connecting the current train service to Tenterfield, often running empty or with a very few passengers. I understand that a representative from Trains North openly discussed the likelihood that the GNR will terminate at South Tamworth due to the failing viaduct just south of the Tamworth Station, at the recent markets in the Mall
What is the train lobby doing to advocate for the necessary repairs to be carried out both there and the Woolbrook bridge over the MacDonald river, in order to protect the current train service? Perhaps you could ask Ms McKenzie.
It seems that you are relying on controversial statements to engage people in your “publication” and I guess it works because as David Good pointed out, here I am. But to say that the rail trail / train debate is dividing our town is not as accurate as the fact that the NE Times seems to take great delight in doing that job.
Jenny it’s called gathering intelligence and being informed! I’m sure Mr Good understands that better than most…
No train north but one marvellously potholed ‘national’ highway that every car and truck (oops, no Greyhound buses either, anymore) has to negotiate. Yes, maybe it’s too late to bring back the rail but, FGS, fix up the only road we have.
What will everyone in Armidale complain about when the rail trail is a success? The mall is dead and yet an existential crisis over a service that hasn’t existed for decades seems to take priority.
Alexandra Hall there is nothing like a mindless cause, to bring them out!
What nonsense. Regional NSW rail is not an energy efficient way to carry the kind of freight that travels in and out of the New England , particularly as the nearest port and distribution centre is Brisbane, not Sydney. And it’s certainly not an efficient way to carry passengers, either to destinations in NSW or again to Brisbane which is the nearest capital and major shopping, health and educational hub. Get decent bus connections in place – there’s currently none to Brisbane -;and stop trying to use climate change as yet another tactic in this on-going campaign to try and stop the rail trail.
Governments both LNP and Labor have consistently advised they will not restore closed railways, including the New England line. This is just about trying by whatever means to stop the New England Rail Trail. The Northern Rivers Rail Trail has been hugely successful with over a quarter of a million visits since the first stage opened in late 2023. The impact on local businesses has been similarly massive. The only question is does the New England want to similarly develop its economy and jobs opportunities?
Peter Hatfield Peter Hatfield yes, the NSW Government has quoted that there are no immediate plans to restore and use the line. This may well however end up being a federal issue. The inland rail is being regularly reviewed and our line was originally seen as one option but unfortunately an out date and inaccurate report led to the western line being chosen. The quote for our line was minuscule compared to the projected $40B the inland rail is now looking at. The council wouldn’t be bound by legislation to maintain it like the rail trail. 😉
New England Railway Inc have been working towards restoring their rolling stock (the set that is undercover in the sheds) to get them onto local rails. The intention is to connect Armidale and Guyra with a heritage rail service. They have received some government grants to do this. Council has been aware of this inclusive project that would be of tourist benefit to all ages and disabilities. With the amount of money they have put into their budget for planning for a rail trail, the line could be restored to a heritage rail level out to Dumaresq and we would have a valuable tourist attraction for the region.
Part of the NSW Rail Trail Framework that became part of legislation in 2022 requires that a project has ‘demonstrated community support’. I lament the division in our community over this issue. The Government looks closely at community reaction and I fear that all the time and money spent by Armidale Regional Council (even though a motion was passed that no rate payers money be spent) will be wasted when the matter if community support is addressed by the NSW Government.
Local councils have no ability or authority to restore rail. Advocates of restoring train services loudly lament the cost of rail trails but have an attitude of “AT ANY COST!!!!!” when it comes to “bringing back the trains”, demonstrating that the cost of rail trails is not an honest factor in their thinking. They also ignore the option of improving bus services, trotting out a host of feeble excuses for why busses would not be suitable – when buses would be a much cheaper and far more flexible solution for public transport.
The relationship (with local rail) ended a VERY long time ago. You can keep fantasising about getting back with your ex but it’s not going to happen, and it shouldn’t. It really is time to move on.
I remember you HAD to send wool by rail.
You would take a truck load from the property to the rail yard and wait and wait and wait for some bloody rail worker to honour you with his presents to do his job and unload your bails.
BLOODY RAILWAYS.
Anyone know wants them never dealt with them.