What is it?
The Liverpool to Parramatta Cycle Route is a route that has been constructed by the RTA which closely follows the Railway Line from Liverpool in Sydney's southwest to Parramatta in the west. The funding mostly came from the RTA with some contributions from the Department of Health.
The facility was opened on Saturday 2 December 2000 by the Minister for Transport and Roads the Honorable Carl Scully. On that day a community bike ride was held supported by the local council. The cycle facility provides local connectivity between suburban centres and will assist the providing a safer environment to the existing streets.
The facility is also a regional route, which allow a cyclist to travel about 17km past the 8 intervening railway stations between Liverpool and Parramatta.
What is it not?
Bike North and the Rail Trail Project Group are the principle promoters or Rail Trails in the Sydney Urban Area. We believe that high quality Veloways should be built along the existing linear easements (railway lines, pipelines, rivers, motorways) before the land becomes unavailable. We have promoted this vision to the Government and it was picked up by the Minister who released a ten-year cycle plan for Sydney. Contained within this plan are significant lengths of Rail Trail cycleway.
We have a particular interest in this cycle route because it is the first long "Rail Trail" that has been built by the RTA in Sydney. However this route is different to most Rail Trails in that it does not follow within the railway corridor in all places. In most places it follows footpaths and road edges and Bike North does not consider it a true Rail Trail which would be a far higher quality facility.
General Description
Members of Rail Trail/Bike North first surveyed the route on 11 November 2000 and has been back on a few more occasions to gather more information. Keep checking this site as more information is added.
The cycle route is about 17 km long and keeps off roads the the majority of that distance. The facility is of varying width and features clear directional signs from start to finish and also pointing to intermediate destinations.
Much of the length is along urban footpaths which are shared with pedestrians. There are many road crossings and a number of areas such as railway station car parks that are traversed.
