Trail Information

The Northern Rivers Rail Trail is a proposed 132-kilometre recreational shared-user pathway from Murwillumbah to Casino.

Staying within the railway corridor of the former Casino to Murwillumbah branch line of the North Coast Rail Line, the trail's route is proposed to meander through the Northern Rivers countryside, passing through the major towns of Casino, Lismore, Byron Bay and Murwillumbah.

The trail will be constructed in four stages, each delivered separately by each of the four local Councils as funding allows.

On 8 October 2021, the Federal Government announced a $9.9 million grant to construct the 16.3km Bentley to Lismore section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail.

Both the Casino to Bentley section in the Richmond Valley Council area and the Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek section in the Tweed Shire Council area have already been funded and are at varying stage of construction/design work.

The entire project is designed to attract the rapidly growing hinterland tourism market, as well as locals - creating business and job opportunities and boosting the local economy.

Next Steps

Following the Government’s October announcement, Lismore City Council will now begin detailed design work for the Bentley to Lismore section.

This 16.3km section will start at Bentley’s Back Creek Bridge and finish at the Lismore Railway Station, South Lismore. As the rail trail passes through South Lismore it will provide important connections to the existing local network of pathways.

The section has 29 railway bridges, some of which have structural timber elements that are in poor to unserviceable condition. This will be further investigated during the design stage.

At this time, we envisage that significant railway infrastructure and sections of duplicate railway track near the Lismore Railway Station will be preserved and improved for users to appreciate the historical railway origins of the Rail Trail.

Once the design work is finalised and construction begins, it is expected it will be completed within two years, weather permitting.