Stage one was an 18 month project which commenced in February 2021. It was designed to create and publish a comprehensive Feasibility Study for the planned Rail Trail. The study was underwritten by a $120,000 grant from the Victorian Government’s Enabling Tourism Fund, with $18,000 contributed by the community through the Castlemaine Maryborough Rail Trail committee (CMRT) and $12,000 from Shires of Central Goldfields and Mount Alexander. The total cost was $150,000,
Politicians, committee members and supporters at the Feasibility Study launch
The study was prepared by urban planners from Fitzgerald Frisby Landscape Architects, tourism economists from Urban Enterprise and engineers from Newton + Kerr Partners.
A collaboration, with representatives from CMRT, Central Goldfields and Mt Alexander Shires, the Victorian Government and the consultants, was formed to manage the study. The study’s scope asked the consultants to assess the trail concept from two perspectives: the feasibility of building the trail, including its route, construction and costs, as well as the trail’s tourism prospects, including users’ trail experience and expected visitor demand.
Stage one was completed in August 2023 with the publication of a very positive Feasibility Study.
Download the 112 Page Feasibility Study Report (38 MB)
Download the study report’s 107-page appendix (18MB)
Watch our video (below) of the key benefits of our Rail Trail as outlined in the Feasibility Study
The Feasibility Study has forecast that:
- over its first 10 years the trail’s benefits will outweigh its costs by between 2.2 and 2.6 times
- the trail will increase economic output by some $24M per year in the Mount Alexander and Central Goldfields Shires
- the trail will support almost 160 new jobs in the communities along the trail
- it could overall generate a positive return of $44M – $51M
- the trail would also generate significant social and wellbeing benefits to local communities, including providing safer commuting options within and between towns
- a well-designed trail will connect the centres of several smaller towns directly to the trail to encourage visitation