We are looking for support to reinvigorate a day trip train service from Casino and Kyogle to Brisbane that is sorely missed. It has deep roots locally, and in our history as a nation. Here’s the story;
This month, Kyogle will mark a centenary.
On 23 June 1926, Commonwealth Attorney-General John Latham stood in Kyogle and turned the first sod on the NSW section of the rail line that would connect Melbourne to Brisbane — a project so significant it required the joint commitment of three governments and the labour of a young nation.
The line opened in 1930. It included the Cougal Spiral, we now know it as the Border Loop — an engineering marvel still remarkable today.
One hundred years on, that same line runs a single service departing at approximately 3am, returning around 8am. If you want to go to Brisbane by rail, you need to book accommodation.
You cannot use it to pop up for a day, say to see a specialist in Brisbane.
You cannot use it to get to the airport easily, visit family and return home the same day.
Or even at decent hours. For the elderly residents of our region — many without a car, many living alone — this is not a timetable inconvenience. It is an isolation.
At least 1300 people across Northern NSW have now signed a petition calling for something the builders of this line would have considered self-evident: a morning departure, an afternoon return, and a service that people can use easily and safely.
On June 19, Kyogle Mayor Danielle Mulholland will travel to Canberra to place those signatures directly in front of ministers.
We will also be sending them via email to the people that are making the decisions, including Jenny Aitchison MP, NSW Minister for Regional Transport, and the NSW and QLD Cross-Border Commissioners. We want as many names as possible to put in front of them.
Our local leaders see the importance of this and are lending their support. Mayors Danielle Mulholland and Robert Mustow have signed. Michelle Nagas, from Kyogle Local Aboriginal Land Council has signed and voiced her support for the campaign, underlining the importance of this connection for Indigenous communities across the region.
Our petition deadline is June 18. There is also a State Government transport enquiry open for comment at the moment, the SRITP public consultation which closes June 14. Both deadlines matter.
Here is how you can make your voice count:
Sign the petition: change.org/NSWQLDpracticalrailconnect OR or sign in person at Clay Corner in Kyogle, Café Pepe at the Commercial Hotel in Casino and we are looking for a place in Lismore if you know of a good location that is willing to support the cause.
Send an email to decision-makers and let them know that the area would benefit greatly for a daytrip service from Kyogle to Brisbane and how you would use it.
Send it to: Angela and Bailey at engage.sritps@transport.nsw.gov.au; maitland@parliament.nsw.gov.au (Jenny Aitchison MP, Minister for Regional Transport); enquiries@cbc.nsw.gov.au (Kalina Koloff, NSW Cross-Border Commissioner); mail@grc.qld.gov.au (Bob Gee AGM QLD Cross-Border Commissioner).
Pin your location on the community map: haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/sritp/north-coast-map
Make a formal submission via a survey: haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/sritp/north-coast
Do one. Do all. But do it before mid June — while the SRITP is still open and so Mayor Mulholland can take your name to Canberra.
See you on board!
Lara McCollin
Boorabee Park