Rail trail fail a win for train group
THE Northern Rivers Railway Action Group (NRRAG) has applauded the Federal Government's decision to not provide funding to the Murwillumbah section of the proposed rail trail.
NRRAG spokesperson Beth Shelley said the group had always opposed the idea of a rail trail because it wanted to see rail return to the Northern Rivers.
"Bike paths are all well and good but not when they mean ripping up our railway tracks and losing the whole corridor from Casino to Murwillumbah,” Ms Shelley said.
"Only under the 99A Transport Administration Act are the existing railway tracks protected from being ripped up.”
While the group does support having a bike path built, Ms Shelley said it would be more appropriate to have the infrastructure run alongside a working railway line.
"A bike path could easily go alongside the railway track as proposed by Byron Council,” she said.
"We don't understand why the bike lobby group don't support having both.”
