The promise of potential funding and the big media hype surrounding it at the time was clearly a measured push for National votes in the northern rivers pre-election. Only NRRT couldn’t see this.
I think back to that massive photo in the Northern Star of everyone jumping for joy over the coming funding and I just shake my head at the naivete in believing anything a politician promises when an election is looming. The cheque was never in the mail – it was just a pure and simple stunt to try and garner votes.
Post election the northern rivers rail trail funding has gone the same way as Thomas George’s promises to rip up CSG licences – into thin air. The government has lost interest in the project and moved on, having forked out $5 million of the so-called $50 million to Tumbarumba, where the proposal was pretty much a no-brainer, with widespread community support.
NRRT can have all the meetings it wants with the government over this now to try and ‘get things back on track’, but the message is clear. The rail trail in its proposed form is done and dusted. It’s time now for the community to come together and start lobbying for a multi-modal use track, featuring light rail as the centrepiece.
It’s the only fair and equitable long-term solution, and what our diverse northern rivers community deserves.
You can still have your bike track, but not at the expense of other people’s extremely valid needs.
You’ve hit the nail right on the head Lucy.
Weren’t TOOT and your local Greens doing their best to derail the rail trail with the misconceived motive no rail trail would somehow magic ghost trains from the 20th century back on the 19th century steam-age degenerated track?
Any sign of trains? Or nothing but the sound of crickets?
Sounds like TOOT have succeeded in ensuring that the region has nothing but an abandoned,overgrown rail corridor. No trains. No rail trail. And your naïve Green politicians are now without a voice and no influence because they don’t have the balance of power in the Upper House.
It’s gonna be a quiet few years.
Spot on Lucy! Lets hope NSW government sees this clearer.
I have stated on numerous occasions on this forum that there are two choices only for the C-M rail corridor: a rail trail or nothing…
Looks like we’ve got nothing… but a multi-modal mass of …..
And yes…maybe we were naïve believing our local politicians. Perhaps we were duped. But one’s thing for sure…there’ll never be a train or anything else on those rusting tracks.
TOOT – celebrate your victory and enjoy the weeds.
THANKS TO ELEVEN YEARS OF HARD WORK BY THE NORTHERN RIVERS COMMUNITY WE STILL HAVE A BILLION DOLLAR TRAIN LINE AND A TRAIN WILL BE RUNNING INTO BYRON IN DECEMBER!
It’s small start but the future of sustainable public transport for the Northern Rivers is looking a lot brighter.
The response of cycleway supporters says everything about their concern for the transport needs of locals, tourists, and the protection of our beautiful environment.
Louise, as you well know rail trail supporters are strong advocates of efficient public transport. It just won’t happen on the C-M corridor.
Lucy, you are 100% correct.
And who exactly will be using the light rail? It’s a no brainier that light rail is best suited to high density urban centers eg gold coast. Northern rivers isn’t exactly high density nor do we want it to be. Yes TOOT have got their way this time and we will now have nothing except vague promises of a private developers misconceived and poorly planned 3km rail motor service for exclusive resort guests. Thanks to TOOT the corridor will be well and truly deteriorated beyond any use in another 11 years.
Whoops. I stand corrected. Apparently I got it wrong about widespread community support for the rail trail in Tumbarumba. It appears many of the locals there aren’t happy about it either.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/18285013/opposition-grows-on-rail-trails/?cmp=st#page1
Do some of the good folks of Tumbarumba want their train back too?