The NSW Government’s historic Rail Trails Bill has passed through Parliament, empowering regional communities to convert disused rail corridors into walking and riding tracks.
The Transport Administration Amendment (Rail Trails) Bill 2022 alters the Transport Administration Act 1988 to provide a streamlined process that may enable regional rail trails where and when the community wants them.
Cities and Active Transport minister Rob Stokes said the Bill unlocks opportunities for communities and fixes outdated and onerous legislation that required a change to the Act for each rail trail.
“This bill will allow regional councils to transform these spaces into treasured public places. Projects that are consistent with the Rail Trail Framework and have broad community support will now be able to proceed,” he said.
“We know that active transport options are great for our wellbeing, our environment and give locals and visitors a way to explore the beauty regional NSW has to offer, free of charge.”
Regional Transport and Roads minister Sam Farraway said an improved process to authorise the use of non-operational rail lines for rail trails and related tourism uses will benefit rural communities and economies, without compromising on biosecurity or ongoing viability.
“The Government’s approach makes the process for rail trail development more rigorous and transparent; this is not a green light for all disused rail corridors to become a rail trail,” he said.
“State-funded pilot projects have proved popular and beneficial — the first completed rail trail between Tumbarumba and Rosewood saw spend in the local economy increase 20 per cent following its opening in mid-2020.
“The $4.9 million project has had over 15,000 visits so far and welcome economic stimulus from this has flowed to Snowy Valley businesses.
“We’ve also invested $7.8 million in the Northern Rivers Rail Trail, which is expected to create an extra 200 jobs and attract 82,000 visitors each year in and around the Tweed communities of Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek.”
All rail trails would be created under a lease agreement of up to 30 years with the local council. The agreement allows the Minister to terminate the lease should the corridor be required for a future transport use.
The move continues to anger the Northern Railways Defenders Forum, which has been steadfastly against the legislation.
Spokesmen Siri Gamage and Mathew Tierney said as the country faced higher fuel prices, and with a need to commit to meaningful climate change targets, it is the wrong time to be alienating railway lines from their original purposes.
“We are not against rail trails per se, just ones that can be done by ministerial fiat, despite the real opportunities that we are currently exploring,” they said.
“Let’s instead see a full review of the non-used but still open railway lines to see what purposes they can and should be put to as functional railway lines.
“With Inland Rail, for example, there is a clear case to re-activate many of the old grain lines as feeders to this major piece of rail infrastructure. In other areas such as the New England, the inevitable significant growth in truck traffic can be substantially reduced by using rail, which can feed to the new intermodal at Tamworth as well as significantly improving safety on this major route.
“In addition, the rail line upgrading, if extended into Queensland, could form a flood-free emergency freight option for that inevitable time when both the Inland Rail and Coastal railways are flooded by our increasingly erratic climate. In addition, as we learned in the last major drought, it is difficult and at times logistically impossible to truck water in to tableland towns, whereas rail can manage this much more easily.