North Easy Railway Petition

About

In the May 2015 Federal Budget was a grant to Dorset Council of $1.47M for the conversion of the North East Rail Line from Scottsdale to Launceston to a cycle trail, about 62Km of rail line. All this without any consultation with the stakeholders – the residents and farmers who live along the line. This was the first they knew about this flawed plan. Almost immediately an association was formed: the North East Residents and Farmers Inc. (NERAF). NERAF have been fighting to retain the line for tourist and heritage rail, and possible future uses. As ammunition, NERAF hired a rail track inspector, well qualified and nationally known. He was Bob Vanselow. Over seven days, Bob walked the track, taking notes and making measurements. His conclusion was that the line was “95% fit for use”. So much for Dorset Council’s assessment that the track was beyond repair. NERAF, and the Launceston and North East Railway (L&NER) work closely together. L&NER has been granted a section of the line, an initial response from the state government. This effectively precludes any bike trail reaching anywhere near Launceston. L&NER have been collecting assets, including track, sleepers, track fittings, locomotives, support vehicles and a rail motor and trailer, which can carry 88 passengers. Accreditation is well advanced, not only for trains, but also for “rail rider” pedal vehicles. Now over seven years, the opposition continues. The three surveys have been ignored. . The most supportive for the destruction of the rail line was 35%. The other surveys were 70% and 73% in support of rail.. These surveys and three petitions have been ignored. To date, Dorset Council has been granted conditional approval for the track within its municipality and is now submitting a further development application for the track from Wyena at the municipal border through to Lilydale Falls, about 3Km out of Lilydale. There are serious environmental issues in disturbing the ballast and rails, wherein 120 years of heavy metals, hydrocarbons and arsenic have accumulated. Undisturbed, these significant contaminants will be contained and not in contact with people.