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Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Rail’s time has gone – time to move on

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John Scrivener, Main Arm.

The railroad was developed during the early part of the industrial age, at a time when its only alternative was horse and buggy. For a long time the railroad was the preferred mode of terrestrial transport and often the safest and the quickest way to travel. For more than a century the railroad gave rise to great fortunes and powerful companies.

But times change and by the end of the last millenia, alternative modes of transport had greatly eroded the advantage once enjoyed by the railroad. Motor vehicles and paved roads have vastly improved access to many more places than rail could ever hope to reach. With constantly improving safety and efficiency, cars and trucks have the ability to reach and service many more destinations at a fraction of the cost of building railroads and running trains.

The demise of rail services in our region was inevitable and due entirely to economic reasons, nothing to do with greens or cyclists. Today the rail corridor is overgrown, dilapidated and mostly impassable, the rails are rusted and the sleepers are rotten. The studies have confirmed the obvious, restoration of rail services in our region is not economically viable.

I can’t understand why people are still arguing about this and campaigning for the return of rail services, it’s not going to happen, it’s pure fantasy, pie in the sky. Byron Shire Council and the Echo are both partly responsible for the appalling lack of direction and initiative on this issue, since they both seem to want to sit on the fence and try to please both sides in the debate.

But the fact is only one side of this debate is grounded in reality and it is now past time for reasonable people to use their common sense and make the decisions required to set in motion the only development possible for the disused rail corridor at this late stage, namely a low-tech, multi-purpose trail, accessible for use by hikers, horses, cyclists and the like.


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8 COMMENTS

  1. Well said John. After 13 years of campaigning (and I admire the determination) it is really time for the TOOTs and other pro train groups to accept that a regular train service is never coming back on this corridor. A multi use trail on the corridor will be an wonderful asset to the northern rivers.

  2. http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/Download.aspx?Path=~/Documents/Community/Transportation/TSC01557_Public_Transport_Strategy_Report.pdf
    Tweed Shire Transport Strategy document released in 2011 supports a future train network running parallel to the Pacific Motorway with multimodal transfer stations located at the highway exit points .
    Byron , Ballina , Lismore and Richmond Shire Councils should all support Tweed Shires vision and work towards a railway system that will give the best possible transport network system for at least the next 130 years .
    Getting people out of cars and trucks off our highways takes much more than just reinstating a train on an outdated steam age alignment corridor . Don’t let the nostalgic heritage train groups fog the issue or you will end up with more 40km/hr 1970s or older tourist trains that are purely for tourists and won’t get workers out of their cars.

  3. Very well said, John Scrivener.

    I get the feeling though, that the Echo is now placing more emphasis on your argument, than it may have in the past. I certainly hope so, as it becomes more irrefutable to the growing public viewpoint, that a multi purpose Rail Trail ticks all the tick-able boxes. The returning of trains has no tick-able boxes.

    This would leave all our Byron Shire “Greens” Councillors plus Basil Cameron, as the greatest force threatening the very existence of our corridor, in public hands.

    They have already agreed to throw $200,000 of ratepayers’ money away, for no tangible benefit whatsoever, on The Byron Line feasibility study !!

    But $200,000 is peanuts compared to causing the privatisation of our corridor, by encouraging imminent sell-off, should their inadvertent prolonged procrastination inevitably lead to this anti-community outcome.

    We all need to realise that fence sitting is a dangerous stance indeed.

    Let’s save our corridor, for US, by encouraging the only possible way to re-activate it, and in turn, keeping it in public ownership for our future use.

    A multipurpose Rail Trail.

  4. John, I think it could be a good idea if you cast your eyes over the horizon to many other countries where rail is still growing, far from being in demise. New tunnels through the Alps. Expansion off rail services in Europe and the UK. Fast Trains ! China, Japan and the rest of Asia developing new and fast rail links.
    We, here in OZ need more rail to connect communities over our vast continent.
    Here in The Shire we need a rail link between casino and the boarder to join up with QLD rail. But how about making it a trifecta of rail, trail and cycle. It can be done. If the Far North Coast of NSW expands as predicted we are going to need more then the M1 and crappy roads full of potholes and vehicles spewing out greenhouse gases.

  5. How do you draw tourism revenue inland away from the coast? Anyone who have ever worked in Council Tourism Development roles in the Northern Rivers will tell you that that is THE most vexed question of all times. It’s so tantalising, so close by, yet unobtainable in any serious measure. That will all change when the community trail becomes a reality. Towns like Lismore, Casino and Murwillumbah will finally be on the tourism map and villages like Burringbar, Stokers Siding and Eltham will be reinvented as the little gems of the whole experience.

    • I can see it Will: The Burring-bar, The Stokers Arms, The Eltham Inn (Hot Meals Pale Ales and Fine Wines) – and all of them sporting a “Wheelman Welcome” sign. It’ll be grand indeed lad – and with Tamara’s help I am sure it will come to pass

  6. PeterL All of the places you mention have much larger and more dense populations than Australia including the North Coast. I would note too that in Japan and Europe people are turning to air travel on longer routes – like Tokyo Osaka for example – because it is has become cheaper than high speed rail. While State governments here have provided heavily subsidized rail travel to mainly concessional users, there is no way they would buy into subsidizing high speed services that would otherwise be non-competitive with interstate air tickets. Similarly there is no way any State government would go back to providing highly subsidised train services on the North Coast, for the limited number of people who would use the service. There would be no point too in connecting to the QLD lines unless you built a QLD gauge line and if you did thee would be little point using the existing route through Murwillumbah which has not been identified a corridor with potentially large passenger numbers – a bus up the M1 connecting to the QLD rail is faster and cheaper. The predicted growth in the region will deliver the sort of population that would economically support a rail service – that is why the line does not appear in the State government’s 2036 document. The rail trail is a separate issue, but one side benefit of removing the rails is that people who should already know better might stop talking about trains and start talking about people and their transport needs. They might then start lobbying to put in a comprehensive network of commuter and loner distance bus services so all – not just the corridor-ites – can get around the region and up to QLD with greater frequency and ease than today.

  7. This is an email I sent The Byron Mayor in early January…

    Dear Simon,

    A friend and I have just recently returned from a cycling trip in your beautiful neck of the woods and had a great time.

    We drove up from Sydney and left our car in Byron Bay..

    It was then on our bicycles, where we based ourselves in Mullumbimby and Murwillumbah. We completed 6 day rides of the surrounding area, with trips of around 80kms per day. We were amazed that while the coast was packed with tourists, a little way inland, which has amazing scenery, is much less populated.

    It is fantastic for cycle touring. The only slight problem was that some roads with traffic had little shoulder and it made it a little disconcerting with passing cars.

    We understand that your Council is yet to decide on what is the best use of the old rail line which passes thru your area.

    Our feedback is WHY you haven’t decided on the Rail Trail idea? As in the Kevin Costner movie ‘Field of Dreams’….Build it and they will come!

    It is an absolute NO BRAINER……It would be a win win for locals and tourists alike which would enable a safe and beautiful walking and bicycle trail that would become World famous. It really would!

    Businesses for accommodation, food and the like would be created and also help to revive ailing towns.

    Murwillumbah would become either the starting or finishing point for a great bicycle trip and bring many tourists into what appears to be a town in need of a boost.

    Locals could also use it to commute to work or kids could ride to school.

    I assume you have researched other Rail Trails around the world and see how they have thrived. The countryside from Casino to Murwillumbah, via Byron Bay, is as pretty as anywhere in the world.

    You can help bring this to fruition.

    Other communities where this has been done are amazed at how successful they have become and how much money they bring into the area.

    It is our view that any ideas of a mixed use of the old line would ruin the opportunity to create a World famous cycle and walking trail.

    Just thought you would like to know some feedback.

    Regards,

    Scott Donaldson

    He phoned me but wasn’t at all interested in my thoughts.

    A dinosaur of a politician!

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