Dear rail supporters,

It is a known fact that there is very poor public transport between Armidale and Tenterfield- Wallangarra in northern New England.

There have been no train services for the last 34 years.  Bus services ceased after the pandemic.  Residents in areas such as Guyra, Ben Lomond, LlanGothlin, Stonybridge, Glencoe, Glen Innes, Emmerville, Deepwater,  Tenterfield and Wallangarra have very limited transport .  As a result when they have to travel between places especially for personal medical and  allied health services, employment, education, and family reasons, they face enormous difficulties.

Men and women who are disabled, elderly, sick, isolated, unemployed, those from lower socio economic backgrounds, and those who do not drive or access to a car have been forced to find other ways of mobility or go without the access to basic necessities(at the bottom of this message is one case study).

Government has a responsibility to provide public transport to people in regional NSW yet it has failed to do so.

Have you been affected by poor public transport in the area you live?  If so I like to hear from you about your circumstances.

Case Study: A person whose daily life is affected by poor Public Transport

My name is .......... I am a male and live around ......., and I am 74 years of age.
I am giving you the reasons not only for myself but also for a lot of elderly and the physically handicapped who are forced to "not be able to travel" because of lack of proper transport! 
Glen Innes is a town with a large number of elderly people, who do like to go to Armidale and or Tamworth for " a day out"! And more and more elderly will be locating to this area. Especially after all the multiple floodings over the last couple of years.
Because of physical disabilities ( .......has my permission to explain them) I have a problem even driving from Red Range to Glen Innesl. Driving to Armidale upsets my whole body because of the position of sitting too long..  The condition of the NSW roads is not even taken into account! 
The bus service is not good,  Often booked out, especially during school holidays. Or not on  time. Depending on the weather if places are flooded. 
 I will have a problem getting on the bus with my "wheelie walker". Then the seats are too crammed and the travel  time involved! 
When the rail system is reinstated then I only have to drive to the Glen Innes Railway Station and "hop" on the train! I can walk onto the train, sit in comfort, and no stress driving!   
Also I can get up and walk a bit and if I have to use the toilet it is quite simple.
The other thing is that " the government" is always talking about "safety on the roads"! 
To put it simply, one train can haul the equivalent of several hundred trucks, which means less accidents, less killed truck drivers from being forced to drive too long and no rest. Then the cost of fuel for one train is less than for all the trucks combined!

I know there are people who do not live in the real world and think that making a bicycle track will bring tourists to Glen Innes. When I was still able to drive to Armidale, very seldom did I see people on bicycles on the highway!!   
The people who think about the bicycle track only think of themselves for now and not when they are older and infirm. 
These (people) come with silly ideas to spend taxpayers money on a small group of people just for....purposes!