Yes, I am pro-rail.
I believe trains are a comfortable, safe and inclusive way to travel, and an important form of public transport for people of all ages and abilities.
As we move into the future, with population growth and increasing freight demands, rail will also need to play a greater role in moving goods efficiently across regional areas. More rail freight can help reduce heavy vehicle pressure on our roads, lower transport emissions, improve safety, and reduce road damage and maintenance costs.
For regional communities like ours, rail should not be dismissed as something from the past. It is part of a sensible, long-term transport future.
How do you feel about the NERT proposal for demolishing the GNR line between Armidale and Glen Innes?
I feel frustrated and angry about it.
I do not understand why anyone would take pleasure in destroying a railway or dismissing it as having no strategic value simply because it is not currently in use or because there are no current government plans to reactivate it.
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) is valuable public infrastructure. It is an arterial link connecting growing, productive regions between NSW and QLD. It has potential future value for freight, passenger transport, heritage rail, tourism, emergency resilience, regional development and long-term transport planning.
I also do not understand how councils can justify spending millions of dollars investigating how to repurpose and redevelop such an important corridor for a rail trail, while proper studies into rail restoration, freight potential, passenger services and other multi-use options have not been fully explored.
I am not against walking, cycling or tourism. I would even consider interim use as a trail if the rails were left in place and the trail built off formation. But out of all the unused corridors that could be considered for ripping up rails for rail trails, this is not the one. This corridor is far too important. It has future value not just for Armidale and Glen Innes, but for Guyra, Tenterfield, Wallangarra, Jennings, the wider New England region, Queensland connections and potentially the national transport network.
To me, demolishing the railway before its future value has been properly assessed is short-sighted, wasteful and deeply irresponsible. I believe the GNR has a place in the near future, we should be working at bringing it back to life for its intended purpose of freight and passenger trains and not destroying it.
Tanya Langdon
Tenterfield Resident
+ Small Business Owner
20-may-2026