Community on the Rails

Rail trails are a powerful tool in (re)connecting community and energising local economies, writes TRC Associate, Chris Ord.

“The loss of a railway was much more than a transport inconvenience to countless communities, more than the destruction of something that brought people together,” wrote Anthony Lambert in Lost Railway Journeys: Passenger Journeys that Time Has Erased.

He was, of course, musing on the loss of the engines and carriages that rolled seamlessly along iron rails,  connecting countless towns and cities across the world, including across Australia’s vast landscapes. He was also musing on the cascade of losses that the disappearance of railways seeded – loss of connection, of economies, but also of an important social and recreational experience.

Practical connection and recreation had coalesced on rail and in doing so, the economic boom that railways delivered evolved from something based purely in the economics of delivering goods, to one that doubled down by delivering visitors spending money in places it may otherwise never have reached.

As the sixties rolled around, a boom in motor vehicle sales and an ever-expanding network of roads meant that the demise of many train lines was inevitable. The deletion of train timetables heralded the disappearance of an inbound economy for many places, and with it the disconnection of towns and communities that once were linked by that iron corridor.

But what if the disappearance of trains and iron rails didn’t necessarily precipitate such losses? What if an alternative use for dismantled and often scenic railway routes was employed? What if leg-power rather than steam, diesel or electric was the fuel that re-invigorated the value of railway routes to communities?

Today, tourism is recognised as crucial to the economy of many rural towns where other forms of industry has long since disappeared. This reliance of regions on the holidaying crowd has been magnified by COVID-19 with travel restrictions stemming the flow of tourists and with it all but cutting off vital income.

Additionally, we now face increasing health issues, in no small measure due to lack of physical activity; mental health issues are at epidemic levels in part due to social dislocation; and there is a recognised disconnect from nature.

While no silver bullet, the role of rail trails in addressing to some degree all of these issues has never been more apparent, and the importance of rail trails to our communities, never been greater.

Rail trails as a concept gained popularity from the moment lines began being decommissioned. Railways bereft of trains began being used informally by walkers to commute between towns and for leisure, the personal benefit a more pleasurable and safer experience compared to that of roadside routes where speeding vehicles made for unpleasant and often dangerous walking or riding. It was only a matter of time that a disused railway was identified as a potential drawcard asset not just for locals getting out and about, but as a tourism attraction  leveraged by regions blessed with beautiful landscapes.