A map showing the route of the northern rivers rail trail and the missing link <\/a><\/p>\nThat vision, however, hit a pothole in June when a joint request for $42m in grant funding from the federal government by the Byron and Lismore shire councils to complete the 54km missing link was knocked back.<\/p>\n
The mayor of Byron shire, Sarah Ndiaye, describes the decision as \u201cheartbreaking\u201d. She says the refusal had been a surprise, and that it appears authorities \u201cpicked smaller projects to have more impact in more places\u201d.<\/p>\n
The condition of existing track near Bangalow. Photograph: Royce Kurmelovs\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really disappointed and I know a lot of other people were too, because we waited a really long time for them to say no,\u201d Ndiaye says. \u201cWhen you look at the social and economic benefits that would come from the destination side of it, the social and physical side of it, and any economic benefit, the government will benefit and so will the people.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut even when the project stacks up, in the current environment it doesn\u2019t seem like enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where once Byron shire was the hold-out in the hope of a new train service, a lack of interest from state and federal governments over time has recently seen it lock in behind the construction of the rail trail as a viable project, creating a united front.<\/p>\n
A completed rail trail would draw visitors through the region like an artery, Ballina\u2019s mayor says. Photograph: Tweed Shire Council\u2018Public transport is pretty much nonexistent here \u2026 The rail trails provide that essential link in a safe way.\u2019 Photograph: Tweed Shire Council<\/p>\n
The Lismore to Tweed branch line railway, built to serve local farmers, officially opened in 1894 after a decade of lobbying and development. Steam gave way to diesel as the railway continued its operation in one form or another until 2004 when the XPT service ended and the hills fell silent.<\/p>\n
When the last train left the station, a crowd of 200 people saw it off carrying candles, a mock coffin and protest signs.<\/p>\n
Lydia Kindred from Northern Rivers Rail Ltd is an advocate for a revival of rail service in the region, initially by extending an existing solar-powered train from Byron to Mullumbimby, the first in a four-stage plan to run a 72km line out to Lismore.<\/p>\n
The group is seeking investors, she says, adding that although the train and the rail trail have often been presented in opposition to each other, Kindred sees them as \u201ccomplimentary\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving both, to us, seems like the answer,\u201d she says. \u201cWe aren\u2019t against having a bike path. And the whole thing could be a real model for other regions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Completing the rail trail would bring investment to the region, which has suffered several climate-related disasters in recent years. Photograph: Tweed Shire Council Photograph: Tweed Shire Council<\/p>\n
The mayor of Ballina shire, Sharon Cadwallader, also supports the project. She says a completed rail trail \u201cmakes sense\u201d as it would draw visitors through the region like an artery, providing the basis for a thriving eco-tourism industry in the region built around multi-day trips.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way I see it is, it\u2019s more than a cycling path: it\u2019s a regional economic project, it\u2019s a tourism project, it\u2019s a health project and it\u2019s a community connection project,\u201d Cadwallader says.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic transport is pretty much nonexistent here. And particularly safety on the road is a big thing. We see cyclists on our road systems being bowled over, and we don\u2019t want that. The rail trails provide that essential link in a safe way.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, we\u2019re stronger as a region. It\u2019s not just about Ballina, it\u2019s about all our neighbouring councils as well. It gives us stronger links [to] our neighbours and I think that\u2019s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Now people realise they have to fight for it\u2019 \u2026 A community group is campaigning for the rail trail to be finished. Photograph: Tweed Shire Council<\/p>\n
Cadwallader says completing the rail trail would bring much-needed investment to the region at time when business is doing it tough. During the 2024-25 financial year, she says regional GDP declined 2.50% in Ballina, 1.90% in Lismore, 4.90% in Byron and 2.10% in the Richmond valley.<\/p>\n
Part of that, Ndiaye says, is linked directly to climate change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state has been struggling with a consistent, steady stream of disaster to clean up after and that\u2019s really impacting our funding,\u201d Ndiaye says. \u201c[State and federal authorities] are having to respond to way more climate-related disasters than they ever had anticipated. For us in 2022, we saw over $300m damage in one night, and we were just one shire.\u201d<\/p>\n
As proof of the economic potential of the rail trail, Pat Grier, a longtime advocate for the cycleway, points to the 150km Otago Central Rail Trail<\/a>, which he first visited about 15 years ago while on holiday in New Zealand.<\/p>\n\u201cA friend said, \u2018Why don\u2019t you try this rail trail thing in Otago?\u2019\u201d He says. \u201cAt first I thought the last thing I need is to bicycle for four days, but it turned out to be a very pleasant experience as you stopped along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said that\u2019s what we should be doing back home. We\u2019ve got more to offer. We\u2019ve got the mountains on one side, the sea on the other.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his view, the northern rivers has everything it needs to draw people to the region: spectacular landscapes, rich history, good food, local distilleries, music and writers\u2019 festivals \u2013 and a disused rail system.<\/p>\n
It is why now, after the knock-back, he and his group have organised a new campaign calling for the rail trail to be finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think something positive will come from this setback as now people realise they have to fight for it,\u201d Grier says. \u201cIt really is all about vision. This would transform the region. We aren\u2019t giving up.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was amended on 19 July 2026 to reflect that Ballina shire council was not part of the joint request for a federal funding grant, as a previous version stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are glow-worms in the old train tunnel if you look hard enough into the deepest, darkest black,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-809521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}