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QW: Rail Trail Maths Doesn’t Stack Up

Siri Gamage, Armidale

In response to an article by Tanya Langdon

ARC report to the council meeting today (22 Oct 2025) under item 9.2 states that the rail trail from Armidale to Ben Lomond will attract 9,000 day visitors and 11,400 overnight stayers annually. Income to be generated is based on these estimates. My question is, if the annual day visitors are 9,000, where do the extra 2,400 overnight stayers come from? Will they be locals who are fed up living in their own or rented homes, who may feel excited about the rail trail for a ride and decide to sleep over? Or has the consultant got the numbers wrong? Should it logically be 11,400 day visitors and 9,000 overnight stayers? This seems to be a numbers game to convince government authorities who will ultimately decide on the viability and community benefits of a rail trail that seeks to remove the rail line and sell the steel to make a buck.

More importantly, the Halliburton report (2018), from which these numbers are taken, assumed that visitors who come to ride this rail trail will not go the full length from Armidale to Glen Innes (103 km) but will ride the trail in sections while staying overnight. However, the proposed rail trail by ARC is shorter than the full length. The rest belongs to the Glen Innes Severn Council area. The ARC section is about 60 km. Do you think a cyclist who comes to Armidale or Ben Lomond to ride this rail trail will ride, for example, 2 km and then stay overnight, wake up the next morning to ride another 20 km and stay again, followed by another ride and sleepover? Or will those cyclists ride for 20 km and return to Armidale to take the train back to Tamworth, Newcastle, Werris Creek, or Sydney? Can you see how airy-fairy these numbers are?

I hope the readers of the New England Times will put their thinking hat on to anything the council says about this rail trail plan, including the way it seeks to raise nearly $600,000 from an external source. If this external source is an energy company in the New England REZ, there is a council policy in relation to handling such funds for community benefit. You can access the policy by visiting the policy section. I hope the council staff follow due process when negotiating with renewable energy companies for any further funds for the rail trail project, because many community members are waiting to know whether other deserving community projects can also access such funds. I note that the Terms of Reference for the Future Fund, promised by the Mayor last year to manage such funds from renewable energy companies in the New England REZ, have not yet been finalised.

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Duval High School needs to be reinstated as a school

Leitha, Uralla

My opinion is that Duval never should have been closed in the first place. The only people that benefited from Duval closing were a state government that didn’t have the on going maintenance of an aging school, or staff for two schools to pay for; and housing developers who gained access to several acres of land inside the city limits which they would be free to build expensive houses on.

QW: Yes, Barnaby Joyce to not contest next election for the New England.

Thelma, Inverell

This is what happens to decent people when they have  had enough with the idiots they have to work with that have no common sense or decency.  You’ll be right Barnaby, you will get your extra superannuation  and early pension from the government. I thought you were better than this and would fight harder for this great country.  

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QW: Jobs and Growth

Rhett, Tamworth/Glen Innes

The rail sector would deliver jobs and growth and give customers of all categories some great transport options

QW: Roncon should go now

David, Armidale

I know it wasn’t in your paper but I don’t think the Express would run this letter if I sent it: but how off the charts delusional was that puff piece about Armidale Regional Council GM James Roncon? The relationship between town and council is as toxic as ever, staff seem to be even more unhappy and fearful than ever, and Roncon is claiming that’s he’s just awesome. I thought he quit? There were plenty of ego-dripping stories that he was leaving… why is he still here? He should go ASAP. And if he won’t, then the elected councillors should make him go as he is obviously more committed to his own ego than to Armidale, not keep renewing his contract.

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