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Order the RTA's BikePlan 2010.
Proposed Rail Trail location map
Rail Trails
could look like this - a bicycle path built along side a railway line in
the rail corridor.
This photo shows part of Perth's "cycle veloway" - a bicycle path alongside Perth's suburban railway lines.
Read Bike North's Rosehill to Carlingford Rail Trail Proposal
Parramatta - Liverpool Cycle Route
Opened December 2000. This is the RTA's first long ' rail trail' ... but is it really what we call a Rail Trail?
More information and a virtual tour of the Parramatta to Liverpool Cycle Route.
A Rail Trail is a high quality cycleway built alongside or on an abandoned railway line, within the existing rail corridor. By using a railway corridorthe Rail Trail is a long, continuous path with a gentle, easy gradient suitable for cyclists of all ages and abilities.
Why Build it?
There is a lack of safe cycling facilities in Sydney's northern region. The greatest barrier to the use of bicycles as a transport option is that the only suitable places to cycle (ie flat routes) are taken by major roadways which, in turn, are extremely cyclist unfriendly.
Are Rail Trails Feasible?
Rail Trails
are an established and appropriate concept for cycleways.
Spare
capacity
along public easements such as rail, canal and electricity corridors have
been used for cycleways all over the world.
Short sections
have been built in Sydney along the Harbour and Como Bridge and at Darvall
Park, Eastwood. The most recent is from Meadowbank to Rhodes crossing the
John Whitton Bridge.
The RTA has just opened a 17 Km cycleroute they call a Rail Trail which runs from Parramatta to Liverpool.
BikePlan 2010 includes many Rail Trails in various parts of
Sydney.
Who Benefits?
Rail Trails
benefit the whole community. We gain a safe and enjoyable alternative to
using the roads. Cyclists are not the only people who are alienated from
the major thoroughfares. Adults and children alike can use the Rail Trail
for transport or recreation. Because it is a long, flat and continuous
path, every level of fitness is catered for.
Rail Trail Events