General News
3 September, 2024
Rail trail project bolstered with significant investment from State Government
CMRT has received $400,000 through the Victorian Government's Enabling Tourism Fund 2024.
Works to realise the proposed Castlemaine Maryborough Rail Trail (CMRT) are ramping up after the project recently secured half a million dollars, and while this funding pushes the trail forward, there’s still work to be done to get across the finish line.
CMRT will now be able to successfully complete it’s pre-construction phase following State Government backing of $400,000 — which comes on top of previous funding commitments from local councils and the community bank, raising the available project budget to $500,000.
Under this ongoing stage of the project, the “primary objective” is to produce a blueprint for the design and construction of a shared-use recreation trail on the disused rail corridor between Castlemaine and Maryborough.
Other works, expected to take at least another 16 months, include community and landowner consultation, cultural heritage management planning, as well as ecological due diligence.
When complete, the trail will connect the towns and communities of Guildford, Newstead, Moolort and Carisbrook and “link them and the region’s attractions to a large regional, national and international tourism market”.
According to CMRT Incorporated president Janice Simpson, the half a million dollar investment highlights an increased recognition of those benefits, directly wheeled in by the project.
“I think people are starting to realise that leisure trails such as CMRT bring in a lot of visitors and money to communities,” she said.
“Soon there’ll be a groundswell of support — especially after this recent Victorian Government funding.
“This is precisely what we wanted and we are lucky to get everything that we applied for.
“We certainly appreciate the financial and moral support that we’ve been given by everyone.”
As part of the next step, Ms Simpson said, the Central Goldfields Shire Council will put out relevant tenders for required consultants.
Once this kicks off, the CMRT team will not have time to rest, tasked with seeking additional funding.
“The work doesn’t stop,” Ms Simpson said.
“We need to raise funds for the actual construction as well and we’ll be keeping our eye out from now onwards for potential grants.
“I’d like to have a broad approach to this so we’d be applying for not only government grants but will also reach out to organisations and individuals who might be interested in putting in some funds.”
If its recent success is anything to go by, Ms Simpson hopes the project is able to attract necessary capital without much struggle.
In the words of the State Government, the project will “creatively transform disused land, bring economic renewal, better land management and social dividends to several major communities, while adding a connecting link to Victorians wider trail network”.
It is one of 29 new infrastructure projects across the state’s regional and rural areas benefiting from the Enabling Tourism Fund 2024.
“This is a huge step forward for the CMRT project that will benefit a huge part of our region,” Member for Ripon Martha Haylett said.
“Creating new and exciting projects like this will go a long way to strengthening our region’s world-class tourism offering and making sure we have a strong local economy into the future.”