In response to last week’s article titled ‘Tweed rail corridor rail trail not looking to the future’ (p.10) I am aghast at the lies and mistruths pedalled by Lydia Kindred who was quoted in this article.
For her to state that the community had not been consulted ‘before the rail trail was pushed through by TSC’ is ludicrous given that ‘The Byron Line’ was in existence for a decade. It was a vehicle designed by [Byron’s] then-mayor Richardson to galvanise and pursue all valid arguments and liaising with his community to help philanthropists to come forward, to reinstate our defunct rail system and include all sorts of other multi-modal possibilities as well.
‘The Byron Line’ achieved absolutely nothing over this decade, except hope for the hopelessly unfundable fantasies, as no philanthropist or government showed any interest, and there still appears to be no interest. Of course, Lydia Kindred’s ‘number of railway companies’ are yet to appear, but most of us ceased holding our breath years ago.
Instead of simply applauding the Northern Rivers Rail Trail (NRRT) and Tweed Shire Council for their enormous successes in the grand opening of the Tweed section of the rail trail, and the ongoing public excitement of it since, The Echo chose to print yet another of these same set of absurd claims, including Kindred’s claim that the rail trail was ‘bulldozed’ through by Tweed Shire Council!
Nothing could be further from the truth. The NRRT fought long and hard, voluntarily, for many years to achieve this remarkable facility for community health, enjoyment and pride, with some business and employment opportunities as well as an obvious bonus for the region.
The hard truth is, that if not for the fortitude and benevolence of the NRRT and its eventual rail trail, our rail corridor could, by now, have been irreversibly sold off.
Now that would have been a travesty in bulldozing.
A growing number of readers can see through printed tripe, but I remain beyond puzzled that the tripe on this topic appears to have obtained eternal licence! Let’s hope not.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
