Armidale Regional Council Moves Rail Trail Plan Towards Approval Stage
Dear Train Supporters,
Prior to the Armidale Regional Council meeting held on 26 August 2026, a group of approximately 25 ratepayers and residents gathered at the entrances to the Council building to demonstrate their opposition to the proposed 67 km rail trail between Armidale and Ben Lomond.
Two speakers, Siri Gamage and Lynda Gasbarri, also addressed the Council meeting. Both argued that Council should re-examine the rail trail proposal before proceeding further and committing additional ratepayers' money to the project.
Key Points from My Presentation to Council
I raised concerns about whether the consultation results can reasonably be described as evidence of broad community support for the current rail trail proposal.
The consultation was voluntary and self-selected. It was not a representative survey of ARC ratepayers or residents.
Council identified 396 supportive responses from within the ARC LGA. This represents approximately 3% of around 13,200 ratepayers.
Importantly, this does not mean that only 3% of ratepayers support the rail trail. Rather, it means that the consultation cannot reliably tell us what percentage of the wider ARC community supports or opposes the proposal.
Two Categories Need Further Explanation
1. Outside the LGA
549 supportive responses came from outside the ARC LGA — more than the 396 supportive responses identified from within the LGA.
These represent approximately 35% of all supportive responses.
They include people with cycling and rail-trail interests, organisations and prospective visitors.
Outside participation is legitimate and may be relevant to tourism and regional interest. However, it is not the same evidence as support from the local community that will be directly affected by Council's decision.
2. Address Unknown.
794 responses — approximately 43% of the entire consultation — were classified as "Address Unknown".
618 of these were classified as supportive.
These 618 responses represent approximately 39.5% of all supportive responses.
Council's published table does not show how many of these respondents are local residents, people from outside the LGA, businesses, organisations or genuinely of unknown location.
Who Is the "Community"?
The headline figure of approximately 84.6% support combines three very different categories:
396 supportive responses identified from within the ARC LGA;
549 supportive responses from outside the LGA; and
618 supportive responses classified as Address Unknown.
These categories should not automatically be treated as equivalent evidence of local community support.
"Supportive" Does Not Necessarily Mean One Thing
My examination of submissions also raises questions about what Council has classified as "supportive". Submissions may include:
clear or unconditional support;
support with substantive reservations;
conditional support;
support for a recreational trail while retaining the railway;
support for a Rail + Trail option; and
support for an alternative alignment away from the railway formation.
An important question therefore remains:
How many of these different positions are included within the 1,563 responses classified as "Supportive"?
What Should Council Do?
Before relying on the 84.6% figure as evidence of broad community support, Council should:
+ confirm whether the 1,848 records represent unique respondents and explain what duplicate controls were applied;
+ disaggregate local, nearby-regional, distant external, business/organisation and genuinely unknown responses;
+distinguish clear and unconditional support from qualified, conditional and Rail + Trail/rail-retention positions;
+explain how significant concerns and alternative proposals raised in submissions have been considered; and
appropriately qualify the 84.6% headline until this further analysis is completed.
The Central Question
The issue is not whether:
1,563 ÷ 1,848 = approximately 84.6%.
It does.
The real question is:
Can the 84.6% figure reasonably be relied upon as evidence of broad ARC community support for the current on-formation rail trail proposal?
In my view, the information published so far does not establish that conclusion.
Council's Decision on 26 August
Council noted the progress report by Daniel Boyce and effectively allowed the project to move from the planning and preliminary work stage towards the approvals stage.
Council is expected to prepare its application for the rail trail, together with the necessary supporting reports, for submission to the NSW Government, possibly within the coming month.
This means that our attention must now also turn to the NSW Government decision-making process.
Our Next Steps
Those who oppose removal of the railway line between Armidale and Ben Lomond should consider making their concerns known directly to the relevant NSW Government Ministers when Council's application is being considered in comoing months.
Before making submissions, it will be useful to study the relevant Council documents, including the business case, community consultation report, environmental and other assessment documents, and the final material accompanying Council's application.
Final versions of some of these documents may become available in the coming weeks. Further reports may also come before Council.
Objections should be factual and, where possible, address matters such as:
the adequacy and interpretation of the community consultation;
the long-term public value of retaining the railway corridor for rail transport;
removal of railway infrastructure for an on-formation trail;
alternative Rail + Trail options;
Council expenditure and future financial liabilities;
regional transport needs and future economic development; and
whether the proposal satisfies the NSW Government's requirements for establishing a rail trail?
Relevant NSW Ministers
The Hon. Tara Moriarty MLC
Minister for Regional NSW
Telephone: (02) 7225 6120
NSW Government website:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/ministers/minister-for-agriculture-regional-nsw-western-nsw
The Hon. Jenny Aitchison MP
Minister for Regional Transport
Telephone: (02) 7225 6220
NSW Government website:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/ministers/minister-for-roads-regional-transport
Both Ministers have online contact facilities through their NSW Government pages.
Further Advice on Making Your Objections
I will provide further information in the coming weeks about how and when objections can be made to the NSW Government Ministers with copies to TFNSW, including the key issues that supporters of retaining the railway may wish to raise.
Other organisations campaigning to retain the railway line north of Armidale for future train services may also provide further advice.
The Council decision on 26 August is not the end of the matter. The next important stage is the NSW Government approval process.
Thank you for your continuing interest and support for retaining the railway north of Armidale.
Siri Gamage
Regional Rail Advocate, Armidale NSW
Email: siri.gamage1951@gmail.com