Goulburn-Crookwell rail trail approaches final leg as biosecurity concerns come into focus

The proposed 56km route, utilising the old rail line between Goulburn and Crookwell, has been up in the air since it was raised in 2015.

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However with funding applications submitted for the estimated $14.2 million project, two key considerations now need to be addressed before the first sod can be turned.

One is the result of a report on the pilot Tumbarumba-Rosewood rail trail in the state's south which wasn't released as expected in late 2021.

That was one of several issues discussed when Friends of the Goulburn-Crookwell rail trail met with the Goulburn MP recently.

"She expressed her clear support for the rail trail but noted that there are two important steps that need to be taken first," Friends member McComas Taylor said.

"We have to sort out the biosecurity issue and we have to sort out the legislative issue. Legislation needs to go through NSW Parliament to change the use of the corridor from a railway to a rail trail.

"There's a great rail trail out in Tumbarumba and that's seen by the NSW Government as a pilot project and a report was expected on that in September last year but it still hasn't appeared.

"We are hoping that report will clarify some of the legislative issues around the corridor. Wendy Tuckerman has kindly agreed to chase that report up."

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The biosecurity issue relates to concerns held by potato seed farmer growers along the proposed trail that their crops will be infected.

AUSVEG issued concerns on behalf of Crookwell farmers in 2018, calling on the government to undertake a biosecurity risk assessment.

Mr Taylor said that the Friends shared those concerns and pointed to the Tumbarumba rail trail, which he said had severely limited access to nearby properties, as a possible solution.

"They are very concerned about two pathogens that would have a severe impact on the area which is quarantined," he explained.

"We are also very concerned about that.

"What we need to find out is if those pathogens can leave the trail if a cyclist simply couldn't venture onto a property. We are currently talking to local land services to find out what the science behind pathogen transfer is.

"With good design that would simply be impossible."

Some Friends members took a trip to visit the Tumbaruma rail trail recently and Mr Taylor said he believed Goulburn-Crookwell would be just as, if not more, of a hit with tourists.

"We talked to a woman running a little cafe in Rosewood and she said her customers have grown from three a day to 100 a day and up to 150," he said.

"I mean this politely but Tumbarumba is in the middle of nowhere, it's difficult to get to but they still have an average of around 100 riders a day.

"Our finances are based on 100 users a day but we should be able to double or triple that I reckon because we are really well located."

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