Gold Coast/Tweed Valley Rail Trail.

[foo on patrol]

This has opened and from reports, it is a good ride, even if slightly short in distance at the moment.

Foo

[elantra]

This has opened and from reports, it is a good ride, even if slightly short in distance at the moment.

Foo

It’s a great ride !
A credit to the local private individuals whose vision and lobbying made it happen, a credit to the local Tweed Council who designed it, and a credit to the contractors (Hazell Brothers) who built it.

Yes, at this stage it is “only” 24 km, but of course the return journey is 48 km, and there are a few side road options that can be “added” to make it further, or in fact to make a loop ride.
The most currently obvious loop ride is to exit the Railtrail at Burringbar, and take Cudgera Creek Rd (gravel) eastwards towards Pottsville beach. This way can go all the way to the beach, or return to Murwillumbah via Reserve Ck Rd etc etc.

A few points to note though…
The Railtrail surface is currently smooth, so smooth that it is smoother than most roads in Tweed Shire or Gold Coast Hinterland.
So you can rode it with a Road bike (or even perhaps a Track bike ) But it ain’t going to stay as smooth as this forever.

There are a few tunnels and bridges of considerable historic interest. On some of the steel girder bridges you can see the insignia of the Steelworks in Scotland which fabricated the massive girders way back in the 1890’s, before they were shipped to Australia.
And then presumably the final part of their transportation was on a horse-powered wagon.
The longest tunnel is over 500 metres !
So it is nice and cool inside (great !) but also very DARK and A BICYCLE LIGHT IS ESSENTIAL.

Bells also useful, as there are plenty of pedestrians and some dogs using many parts of the Trail.

Road access (from the Brisbane direction) is via the M1 Motorway and take the Chinderah exit onto the Tweed Valley Way.
(Bear in mind that the M1 “Motorway” is often very slow in various parts of it)
Once you get to Murwillumbah there is plenty of parking at the start of the Railtrail, or at some other places along it’s course like Stokers Siding, Burringbar, Mooball.

Here’s a few pics :

This is the “shorter” tunnel, near Mooball.


The magnificent Tweed Regional Art Gallery, which is located beside the Railtrail, about 3 km south of Mur’bah


How good is this ! Get on it.

One day it is possible- even likely- that the this Railtrail will continue through Byron Shire and Lismore City all the way to Cassino.
But that’s another story.
The Lismore to Cassino section is likely to be up and running within 2 years which is worth rejoicing.

[warthog1]

Sound and looks great!

[vbplease]

There are a few tunnels and bridges of considerable historic interest. On some of the steel girder bridges you can see the insignia of the Steelworks in Scotland which fabricated the massive girders way back in the 1890’s, before they were shipped to Australia.
And then presumably the final part of their transportation was on a horse-powered wagon.
The longest tunnel is over 500 metres !
So it is nice and cool inside (great !) but also very DARK and A BICYCLE LIGHT IS ESSENTIAL.

Great review! That's really impressive that resources are going into preserving the history and will no doubt cost a lot to maintain.. I know some where unhappy to see the bridges on the BVRT fall into ruin, but they would cost a fortune to maintain.

I've read a few other glowing reviews and can't wait to ride it soon..

[foo on patrol]

Good to see some pics of it and I have a few mates down that way, so a day will be had at some point.

I now live 5mins from the BVRT, so there will be rides in that when I get back on the bike.

Foo

[elantra]

A few more pics.


The “signature” bridge, seven km south of Murwillumbah. Constructed in 1894, maintained for heavy locomotive use until 2003, and now restored and given new purpose.


Burringbar. “Little” towns like this were integral to Australia’s economic and manpower strength in the first half of the 20th Century.


Picture taken a few months ago. This magnificent bridge at Mooball needed more than just a bit of TLC to bring it back into a useable condition. It is now completed and once more a public thoroughfare.

Looking forward to seeing you all up here/ down here in this neck of the woods.
It’s about 2 hours drive south of Brisbane, or 2 days drive north of Bendigo.

Happy to help with travel or ride ideas or advice on places to stay. Cheers.

[warthog1]

It’s about 2 hours drive south of Brisbane, or 2 days drive north of Bendigo.

Happy to help with travel or ride ideas or advice on places to stay. Cheers.

Thanks for the info and posts on it.

[foo on patrol]

The thing that I like most about the Rail Trails, other than the riding is the fact that they bring business to the towns and those small coffee shops that supply good coffee, food and hospitality are the main benefactors from the trails.

I spoke to one owner at Moore about how she was faring through some tuff times and her reply was....I'm so greatfull for the support from the BVRT riders and their support crews that follow them.

Foo

[Comedian]

The thing that I like most about the Rail Trails, other than the riding is the fact that they bring business to the towns and those small coffee shops that supply good coffee, food and hospitality are the main benefactors from the trails.

I spoke to one owner at Moore about how she was faring through some tuff times and her reply was....I'm so greatfull for the support from the BVRT riders and their support crews that follow them.

Foo

I talked to a business owner in Blackbutt and he said the BVRT was the main driver (groan) of tourism to the town now.

[warthog1]

It is sooo nice to be away from cars.

[Comedian]

It is sooo nice to be away from cars.

It sounds so simple to say.. but that's really what everyone wants! Plus the views.

[warthog1]

It is sooo nice to be away from cars.

It sounds so simple to say.. but that's really what everyone wants! Plus the views.

Was on the O'Keefe rail trail yesterday and lots of cyclists on it.
Many you don't see on the road.
Less commited riders without the expensive bikes and gear.
Parents with kids and groups of older riders.

[Comedian]

It is sooo nice to be away from cars.

It sounds so simple to say.. but that's really what everyone wants! Plus the views.

Was on the O'Keefe rail trail yesterday and lots of cyclists on it.
Many you don't see on the road.
Less commited riders without the expensive bikes and gear.
Parents with kids and groups of older riders.

Yep. BVRT .. there are lots of people who are clearly "riders". But there are also lots of people who are clearly new or occasional cyclists!

[Mr Purple]

I talked to a business owner in Blackbutt and he said the BVRT was the main driver (groan) of tourism to the town now.

It's amazing how many negative comments there are in the Facebook threads relating to this trail.

So many locals seem to be convinced it was 'this or the trains coming back' when in reality the cost of re-establishing the train line was close to a billion dollars, and even then you'd have to pour hundreds of millions of dollars of annual funding into maintaining it, when the main issue it disappeared in the first place was a lack of patronage.

Also, our equestrian minded friends seem to think they should have access to the whole thing immediately, and are being discriminated against in favour of bicycles. Without seeming to understanding there are significant differences between horses and bicycles that make them variably suited in terms of the wear they will deliver to various surfaces.

Pretty sure a lot of the negative reaction is just a general reaction against bicycles. Two seconds thought would make them see the immense positive value at minimal investment a new rail trail will have to their community.

[Comedian]

I talked to a business owner in Blackbutt and he said the BVRT was the main driver (groan) of tourism to the town now.

It's amazing how many negative comments there are in the Facebook threads relating to this trail.

So many locals seem to be convinced it was 'this or the trains coming back' when in reality the cost of re-establishing the train line was close to a billion dollars, and even then you'd have to pour hundreds of millions of dollars of annual funding into maintaining it, when the main issue it disappeared in the first place was a lack of patronage.

Also, our equestrian minded friends seem to think they should have access to the whole thing immediately, and are being discriminated against in favour of bicycles. Without seeming to understanding there are significant differences between horses and bicycles that make them variably suited in terms of the wear they will deliver to various surfaces.

Pretty sure a lot of the negative reaction is just a general reaction against bicycles. Two seconds thought would make them see the immense positive value at minimal investment a new rail trail will have to their community.

I am really sad about the trains.

The reality is though - people just drive now.

[elantra]

I am really sad about the trains.

The reality is though - people just drive now.

Yes. As far as I recall, the train service to Murwillumbah (closed in 2004) was a once-a-day service and for Passengers only.
MOST of its patronage was actually Brisbane/SE Qld people who were able to catch the NSW Gov Railbus from Roma St to Mur’bah (via Surfers Paradise) and then get straight on the overnight XPT train to Newcastle or Sydney.
Obviously demand for this service declined for a number of reasons, being the reducing cost of airfares, the upgrades to the motorway down the NSW Coast to Newcastle, and of course the fact that it took the train 14 hours to get to Sydney.
(About the same time as the main interstate line south from Bris via Beaudesert and Kyogle, which is/was of more modern and less winding construction and joins the Murwillumbah line at Cassino)
Yes until about 50 yrs ago, people did use the Murwillumbah train to go from A to B but about that time in history the bananas went to Road transport and the price, availability and reliability of personal motor cars improved- rendering the train to dinosaur status for local transportation.

And yes, the NSW government did commission a study into the cost of rebuilding the Railway line (from Cassino to Mur’bah) to a modern standard in the mid-2,000’s.
The estimated cost was about 800 million dollars, or over a Billion dollars in today’s money.
For the number of people who would use it, that would have been hard to justify, considering the added cost of then running a Loco - likely many thousands of dollars PER TRIP from Cassino to Murbah.
We all know that State Governments are not fazed to blow a few million dollars on this or that risky outcome. But they are NOT going to throw a BILLION dollars to the wind.
I caught this train once - in 1995.
It was a reasonable way to get from Bris to Sydney, if you didn’t mind sitting up all night. In those days the bus leg from Bris to Surfers to Murbah was a bit slow due to traffic congestion- but these days the congestion around the M1 Motorway is so bad that it would be likely not viable.
Anecdotally, the most “complaints” about transportation deficiencies for Tweed Shire residents are directed at delays in heading NORTH towards Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Now if there was a decent train up that direction it would get a lot of patronage.
But There Never has been a train north to Gold Coast and Brisbane.
Perhaps it is time for some people to stop flogging the dead horse and try advocating for a connection from Murwillumbah to the Qld Government railway system, which currently ends just south of Robina (Varsity Lakes) but is allegedly going to get to the Gold Coast Airport at some stage- hopefully before the 2032 Olympics !

[elantra]

^^^ A bit of further historical context…



This Roadmap “For Cyclists and Motors” was published in 1906.
It shows that the Railway line from Murwillumbah to Cassino. This Railway was built in 1894.
Note that it does not show the current main interstate line north towards Brisbane from Cassino through Kyogle, which was not constructed until after WW1.
Nor does it show the “old” railway from South Brisbane to Coolangatta/Tweed Heads, which did exist at that time, but is not shown on this map presumably because it was published as a map of NSW.
Also of interest- note the points of geographic interest on the road to Brisbane - and note the spelling !
And that the road from Warwick to Brisbane was via Toowoomba, the Cunningham HWY did not exist then.
I believe that at about this point in time, there was a “proposal” to build a railway for the short distance - 30 km- between Murwillumbah to link with the Qld line at Coolangatta. But for whatever reason- possibly interstate rivalries- it never happened (like some other Australian railway projects that were discussed and advocated a century ago)
So that when the Duke of York (later to be King of England) and his wife Elizabeth (later to be Queen Mother) were abroad on official duties in 1927, they traveled by train from Brisbane to Tweed Heads, then by Riverboat from Tweed Heads to Tumbulgum, then by private taxi car to Murwillumbah, and then the train to Sydney.
They must have thought that it was strange that there wasn’t a short railway connection between the Qld border and Murwillumbah !
Apologies if this is not riveting information. Cheers

[cottontail]

Are there group meet-ups to ride this trail?
I ride two single speed bikes.
1) NS Analog
2) Colossi

I'm in Nundah Brisbane

[elantra]

Are there group meet-ups to ride this trail?
I ride two single speed bikes.
1) NS Analog
2) Colossi

I'm in Nundah Brisbane

Not that I am aware of.
It’s a popular visit for small groups of Cyclists and individual cyclists from Bris/ Gold Coast/ Sunshine Coast etc.

The Murwillumbah Railtrail (NRRT) gets moderately busy especially on the weekends. Weekdays are probably nicer if it suits you.
The Railtrail is relatively smooth surface so Singlespeed bikes would be quite fine. Narrow tyres will not be a handicap but most people use 25mm - or larger tyre sizes.
There really are no steep sections, as you would expect of a Railtrail.
(OK, I know there are some very steep gullies on the BVRT, but all significant gullies except one are spanned by bridges on the NRRT)

During the day on this Railtrail you will have various opportunities to talk with others who are doing the same thing. Either along the trail, or while stopped at points of interest, or perhaps at one of the food venues along the way.

Oh and by the way, bring a bicycle light !
Cheers