Stage One of Trail to be Built

An exciting step forward has been confirmed in the development of the Wagga Rail Trail. The first stage of the planned trail, a 10km section from Wagga to Forest Hill, will effectively be built by Wagga Wagga City Council as part of their Active Travel Plan.

Council has received funding from the NSW Government and work on this path (and the rest of the 50km+ trail network) will begin toward the end of this year, with all construction due to be completed by June 2020.

This is an important milestone in our push for the development of a 21km shared recreation trail all the way from Wagga to Ladysmith.

The Wagga Rail Trail Committee have been very active in negotiating with Council for the safest, most appealing and convenient route to Forest Hill.

Although the final trail alignment decided by Council is not our preferred route, we can celebrate some critical successes, including:

1.     The use of under road crossings of the Sturt Highway, Kooringal Rd and Copland St as the safest route for trail users, with no disruption to traffic

2.     The full integration of the Equex Sporting Complex to allow for trail access, carparking and toilet facilities and to encourage active travel to sporting events

3.     A route alignment through Brunslea Park for user safety and to allow for trail access, carparking, toilet facilities and eventually access to wetland nature trails and food outlets

Council’s preferred route to Forest Hill does not include any significant use of the rail corridor, which is clearly our preferred alignment. Our Committee will continue to engage with Council and our new State MP, Dr Joe McGirr, to gain access to this corridor.