Story by Hamish Broome •
TWEED SHIRE Council has done the smart thing by applying for funding for its own rail trail instead of waiting for the confused Byron Shire Council to sort its priorities out between wanting a train service or a rail trail.
Last week I was told by Greens MP Tamara Smith, and members of Northern Rivers Rail Trail Inc, that it wasn’t an “either/or” scenario between a rail trail and a train service.
That’s all very well, but there have to be priorities because not everything can be funded in one hit.
We’d all love the idea of trains in Byron Shire but it’s not going to happen remotely any time soon.
The rail trail, on the other hand, is “shovel-ready”.
The rail trail has been costed and the cost-benefit analysis has shown it will give a huge bang for the buck.