Great Victorian Rail Trail

Rail trail in Victoria, Australia

Great Victorian Rail Trail

The GVRT crossing Lake Eildon, near Bonnie Doon.

Length| 134 km
Location| Victoria, Australia
Established| June 2012; 12 years ago (June 2012)
Difficulty| Low
Surface| Gravel
Hills| Gentle (except Alexandra branch)
Water| Available in towns
Train(s)| Regular services to Seymour Station near start of route
Bus| Available in major towns
Trail map

Great Victorian Rail Trail Map

The Great Victorian Rail Trail (formerly Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail) is the second longest rail trail in Australia (after the 161 km Brisbane Valley Rail Trail in Queensland), following the route of the former railway line from Tallarook, the Mansfield Railway and Alexandra Railway in north central Victoria, Australia, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north-east of Melbourne. The trail surface is partially granitic sand and partly chert (a kind of gravel).[1]

Officially opened in June 2012, it stretches for 134 km (83 mi) from Tallarook near Seymour, through Trawool, Yea and Bonnie Doon to Mansfield, with an offshoot to Alexandra from Cathkin.[1] Its highlights include the 200-metre (220 yd) Cheviot Tunnel near Yea, views of the Goulburn River, the Heritage listed Trawool Valley and a former rail bridge over Lake Eildon near Bonnie Doon.[1]

The towns passed through by the main rail trail are: Tallarook, Trawool, Kerrisdale, Homewood, Yea, Molesworth, Yarck Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Kanumbra, Merton, Bonnie Doon Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Maindample, Mansfield Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The trail forks near Molesworth, leading to Alexandra Archived 26 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine.

## History

[edit]

On 29 April 2009, the Federal Government announced that it would contribute A$13.2 million from its community infrastructure program out of the estimated total cost of A$14.2 million needed for the completion of the trail as an economic stimulus and as part of the recovery effort in the wake of the 2009 Victorian bushfires. The money was spent to repair and build bridges, road crossings, car parking, rest stops and amenities.[2]

Map of the Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Goulburn River High Country Rail Trails - Trail Description". Railtrails Australia Website. Railtrails Australia, Inc. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
2. ^ Doherty, Ben; Grattan, Michelle (29 April 2009). "Canberra puts up $13m for rail trail". The Age. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 29 April 2009.

Great Victorian Rail Trails

Rail Trail Bike Tours Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Victorian Rail Trail.

* www.greatvictorianrailtrails.com.au - Official site
* Rail Trails of Australia
* Trail Services Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
* Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail map at Railtrails Australia Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
* Bikely map Archived 31 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
* Geographic data related to Great Victorian Rail Trail at OpenStreetMap

* v
* t
* e

Rail Trails in Victoria

Melbourne & Region|

* Belgrave
* Bellarine
* Box Hill to Ringwood
* Djerring
* Hawthorn to Kew
* Inner Circle
* Lilydale to Warburton
* Outer Circle (Anniversary)
* Powelltown
* Red Hill
* Rosstown Heritage
* Sandridge
* Waverley
* Yarra Valley (Lilydale to Healsville)

Gippsland|

* Bass Coast
* Drouin to Warragul
* East Gippsland
* Gippsland Lakes Discovery
* Gippsland Plains
* Grand Ridge
* Great Southern
* Moe to Yallourn
* Moondarra
* Noojee Trestle Bridge
* Rokeby to Crossover
* Tarra
* Tyers Junction
* Walhalla Goldfields

North Victoria|

* Castlemaine to Maldon
* Dookie
* Great Victorian
* High Country
* Marysville
* Mount Samaria
* Murchison-Rushworth
* Murray to the Mountains
* O'Keefe
* Plain Creek
* Say G'day

Western Victoria|

* Andersons Mill
* Ballarat-Skipton
* Bunny
* Camperdown-Timboon
* Domino
* Grampians
* Great Divide
* Old Beechy
* Port Fairy to Warrnambool
* Tiger

This article about a location in Victoria, Australia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template