08/09/2026
🚆 WE’RE STILL HERE — AND SO IS THE VISION 🌾
Well, the first photo is AI.... but a stunning image of what could be!
It’s been a little while since we’ve shared an update from the Riverina Express Community Project. Life gets busy, priorities compete for our time, and sometimes projects like this become a little quieter in the background.
But the vision hasn’t gone anywhere.
We still believe there is a genuine opportunity to establish a tourist train based right here in the Riverina — one that brings together tourism, railway heritage, restoration and community involvement while delivering real benefits to towns across our region.
And at this time of year, it’s easy to remember why the idea has so much potential.
The canola is out, crops are turning the countryside into a spectacular patchwork of yellow and green, and the Riverina is showcasing some of the most beautiful scenery regional NSW has to offer.
Imagine experiencing it from the window of a train.
The Riverina Express concept has always been about much more than simply running a tourist service.
It is about preservation and restoration — giving historic railway equipment a meaningful future rather than simply preserving it as a static exhibit. Restoring and returning heritage equipment to operation allows people to experience railway history in the environment for which it was built.
It is also about community and teamwork.
Projects like this bring together volunteers, railway people, tradespeople, historians, local businesses and community organisations. They create opportunities to preserve traditional skills, share knowledge between generations and give people the satisfaction of working together to create something the whole region can be proud of.
But ultimately, a train needs somewhere to go — and that is where the Riverina itself becomes the attraction.
A Riverina-based tourist train could connect our towns and encourage visitors to explore our region, supporting accommodation providers, pubs, clubs, cafés, restaurants, attractions, retailers and other local businesses along the way.
Our original economic modelling demonstrated the potential. Day-trip tourists were estimated to contribute around $109 per person per trip, while overnight tourists could contribute around $525 per person per night to the Riverina Murray economy. Depending on the operating model and number of services, that represents the potential for millions of dollars in additional regional economic activity.
There are also benefits that are much harder to put a dollar value on.
Preserving our railway heritage. Restoring something worth saving. Developing skills. Bringing people together. Connecting communities. Promoting our towns. And taking something important from our past and giving it a useful purpose for the future.
And we still need your support.
If you think the Riverina should have a tourist train of its own, help us keep the idea alive and the conversation growing.
Like and share our posts. Talk about the concept with your friends and colleagues. Tell your local council. Speak with your local tourism and business groups. Talk to your pubs, clubs, accommodation providers, restaurants, cafés and hospitality businesses.
Ask them what a tourist train regularly bringing visitors into communities across the Riverina could mean for their town and their business.
Community support matters. The more people who understand the concept, talk about it and recognise its potential, the stronger the case becomes for turning the idea into reality.
We’re still here. The vision is still alive. And we still believe the Riverina deserves a tourist train to call its own.
And when the canola is out and the countryside looks like this, it’s difficult to imagine a better way to experience it than from the window of a train. 🚆🌾
