Regional Rail Trails gaining a head of steam

The Hon. Tim Fischer launched “Steaming Ahead - the High Country Rail Trail Green Paper 2005" at Ludlows Reserve on the foreshore of Lake Hume on Monday 18 april 2005.

This discussion paper has been compiled by the High Country Rail Trail Advisory Group and parklands Albury Wodonga with input from interested community members and organisations.

Three years have now elapsed, along with three Ministers of Planning since parklands Albury Wodonga were advised that they would be appointed as Committee of Management to extend the current rail trail east of Old Tallangatta.  This discussion paper identifies the key policies of the Crown and how development of this rail trail implements these policies.

Community support for extending the High Country Rail Trail from Tallangatta through to Corryong has grown considerably since the opening of the Tallangatta section which continues to be increasingly popular.

Tim Fischer, Chairperson of Tourism Australia and new Patron for the High Country Rail Trail, expresses his concerns about the lost opportunities for businesses in the Upper Murray with the inertia surrounding this issue.

“This is all about community discussion and consultation, to drive forward a sensible approach that combines our vital railway heritage with tourism and bicycle transport facilities together with the magnificent vistas of the Upper Murray. As part of this equation, there must always be respect for the neighbours and landowners along the Trail; it works brilliantly in the Ovens Valley and it can work well along the route of the Highest Irish Broad Gauge railway line ever built.” said Mr Fischer

“The High Country Rail Trail crosses 21 Irish gauge trestle bridges.  These bridges are some of the highest in Australia, possibly the world and are an engineering feat and significant heritage assets.  Developing this rail trail will provide access to this heritage and enable the local community to restore these bridges.”

The Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail that runs from Bright to Wangaratta via Beechworth was developed in the 1990's and attracts in excess of 40,000 users a year.  A La Trobe University Economic Study estimates that over two million dollars of visitor expenditure in this area is directly attributed to rail trail users. 

The High Country Rail Trail has the potential to generate greater returns for the local tourism industry if only the Crown would act on the wide community support for this project.

By extending the rail trail to Corryong, with links to the popular Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail in Beechworth and the Murray River Trail in Albury, there are huge tourism opportunities for this region to become the heart of trails in Australia.

A copy of the Green Paper is available below in PDF Format.  Please note that the sizr of the file is 1Mb.

GreenPaper.pdf (1181 KB)