Greens NSW MP and Transport spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC has outlined the Greens’ position on a Rail Trails Bill currently being debated in parliament.
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Dr Faruqi said that Rail trails can be great for recreation and tourism purposes in some circumstances, but not at the expense of essential regional public transport services.
“We should be reinstating regional rail services as a priority and building rail trails alongside them,” Dr Faruqi said.
“The future growth, prosperity and sustainability of regional NSW depends on fast and effective public transport that connects regional centres.
“The government should be prioritising investment to reinstate rail services, for example the Casino to Murwillumbah line in Northern NSW, which was shut down 10 years ago.
“The community rightfully want commuter transport that connects large regional centres to other cities and towns.
“NSW has strong protections for government owned rail corridors, but the Rail Trails Bill will weaken these protections by providing the Minister discretionary powers to declare railway lines as “disused”, thus ending hope of much-needed regional rail services being reinstated.
“Parliament should consider the development of rail trails on a case-by-case basis, with extensive and proactive community consultation to ensure support, feasibility and as part of integrated public transport needs of regional communities,” she concluded.