To all the Byron Shire councillors who voted for proceeding with the Northern Rivers Rail Trail (NRRT) in two sections, between Mullumbimby to Crabbes Creek, joining the existing Tweed Rail Trail, and between Byron Bay township and Booyong, via Bangalow, a heartfelt congratulations to you all, from the growing number of supporters for this magnificent project for our communities.
Councillors responsible for this future vision are: Asren Pugh, Mark Swivel, Alan Hunter, Mayor: Michael Lyon, Sarah Ndiaye and Sama Balson.
Your astonishing endurance and dedication over the years, to what will be the greatest eco-journey addition to Byron Shire in living memory, will be written in this shire’s history.
It is important to note the political aptitude of Sarah Ndiaye as a Greens representative.
As we know, The Greens to date, have had a blanket policy to return all disused rail corridors in Australia to rail public transport.
Sarah is the first to recognise the perpetual unviability of this with our very own corridor and so acted to vote, instead, to reactivate our corridor with a viable option, thus putting her community first, before unviable idealism.
The NRRT has always acted likewise, and has never stood in the way of actively pursuing groups towards rail service reinstatement but, to date, little to no effective evidence of plans, costings or fundings has been published.
The Greens may or may not appreciate this advanced decision, but in the end, we’re all individuals wishing for best outcomes and if Tweed Shire’s trail is anything to go by, the future decades are looking very good indeed for those that want to ride, run, walk or just amble along, in our gorgeous hinterland environment, away from traffic noise and pollution.
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. 
