Richmond Vale Rail Trail

02/06/2026

Future Jesmond Cycleway (Shared Pathway) Connection – June 2nd 2026:

Extracted Little Planet view from one of Bill Landenberger’s recent drone-based spherical panoramas – Link to 360 cities page:
https://www.360cities.net/image/newcastle-inner-city-bypass-northern-interchange-viewed-from-the-southeast

Bill’s panorama features the almost completed northern interchange of stage 5 of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass viewed from the southeast, from about 60 metres above the bypass (date taken: 2/6/2026).

This part of the shared pathway between Jesmond and Newcastle (via Lambton and Broadmeadow) is also likely to form part of the cross-regional Shiraz to Shore Cycle Trail (Coast & Lake Zone).

Thanks Bill Landenberger!

An extract from the Project Design Map for stage 5 of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass (Rankin Park to Jesmond) has been added to this post:
https://caportal.com.au/tfnsw/rankin-park-to-jesmond/design-map

Further information about City of Newcastle’s planned cycleway and shared pathway improvements around Jesmond can be found at:
https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/about-us/news-and-updates/projects-and-works/walking-cycling/jesmond-cycleway .

31/05/2026

Congratulations to the Save Link Road Forest team on actively moving this initiative forward.

If you would like further information or to Sign the current ePetition to the NSW Parliament, please visit their webpages at: https://linkroadforest.com

Section S6a (Wallsend to Lake Macquarie) of the proposed Composite 120km Shiraz to Shore and Richmond Vale Rail Trail (S2S/RVRT) Shared Pathway runs along the eastern perimeter of the Link Road Forest area (otherwise known as the Tramway Track and the Glendale to Speers Point Cycleway). Future walking and cycling connections to this area might also be possible via the proposed Northlakes Way connections between West Wallsend and Glendale.

30/05/2026

The STEM and environmental newsletter for the Hunter region enviroBYTES is back and so is Green Drinks! Upcoming events include: Sounds of Sustainability Festival 🎵and Community EV Open Day🚙 Over 60 events in this issue. It's good to be back😀
https://mailchi.mp/512fa5f91922/envirobytes-and-green-drinks-are-back-sounds-of-sustainability-festival-and-community-ev-open-day

22/05/2026

Congratulations (again) to We Ride Australia, Bicycle NSW and all of the other groups who advocated for increased Federal spending on Active Transport. The 'front-loaded' and COAG-based nature of these allocations means that there is approx. $11.2m for NSW during the 2026-27 year (Budget Paper No. 3) ... So, City of Newcastle and other Hunter Councils need to get moving if they hope to secure some of this funding for their Walking and Cycling initiatives.
City of Newcastle
Lake Macquarie City Council
Cessnock City Council
Maitland City Council
Newcastle Cycleways Movement

Budget update 22 May 2026 Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King is changing the game for walking and cycling and...

13/05/2026

A big Thank You to the Federal Government and Congratulations to Bicycle NSW and everyone who advocated for ongoing funding for Active Transport initiatives. Of course, we will also all need to continue to push for additional Federal and State funding for cross-regional projects like the Richmond Vale Rail Trail (RVRT) and the Shiraz to Shore (S2S) Cycle Trail in the Hunter Valley - as, typically, only a portion of these larger regional projects are viewed as having an 'active transport' component - but often this includes multiple localised active transport links (including links to schools, universities, stations and shopping centres).

Bicycle NSW is extremely pleased that the the Australian Government has made an ongoing commitment to a National Active Transport Fund.

$50million a year for 10 years has been allocated in the 2026/27 Budget to support the construction of bicycle and walking paths across the nation.

This new funding stream builds on the success of Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Catherine King’s highly successful 2024 Active Transport Fund. That $100million allocation over 4 years was exhausted in the first year due to the strong demand from across Australia!

"Although the funding is less than the $100million a year we requested, there is still a lot to celebrate," says Bicycle NSW CEO Peter McLean.

"A predictable flow of federal funds will deliver game-changing upgrades to the walking and cycling networks in Australian towns and cities."

"A huge thank to the many NSW councils who wrote to the federal government as a result of our advocacy, and the countless community members who echoed the call for a National Active Transport Fund."

"We are also very grateful to our advocacy colleagues at Australia's peak bicycle organisations for their hugely collaborative approach to our joint Budget campaign."

Read our submission here:
👉https://bicyclensw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/260125-Federal-2026-27-Budget-submission-Bicycle-NSW.pdf

We Ride Australia WestCycle Bicycle Network Bike SA Bicycle Queensland Pedal Power ACT

08/05/2026

Federal Inquiry into Local Government Funding and Fiscal Sustainability:
Congratulations and Thanks to Hunter Joint Organisation for your contributions to this Inquiry, and to the individual Councils who also gave presentations.

Here is an Extract from a Focus Area that has particular relevance for projects like the proposed cross-regional S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway.

Focus Area 3: The efficiency and effectiveness of Commonwealth grant funding programs

Regional councils rely heavily on grant funding to deliver infrastructure and services. However, the current system is dominated by short-term, competitive grants that:

• Are misaligned with councils’ legislated planning frameworks;
• Divert scarce staff resources away from service delivery;
• Disadvantage smaller councils with limited grant-writing capacity;
• Embed stop–start, short-term funding arrangements that undermine councils’ ability to sustain programs and retain capability over time;
• Increase cost of delivery with boom bust funding cycles;
• Don’t factor in CPI increases from the time of applying to delivery of grant funding, which can sometimes be measured in years; and
• Don’t allow for operational expenditure support through grants – ie grants are usually for capital projects only.

Over time, this weakens councils' capacity, creates community frustration, and leads to fragmented outcomes, especially in regional areas where councils may be competing for rather than collaborating to attract grant funding.

Instead of supporting long-term planning and delivery, the current grant system often builds vulnerability, distracts from core responsibilities, and reduces the ability of local governments to invest in sustainable, community-led outcomes.

Councils and Joint Organisations require stable, predictable funding to plan and deliver long-term, placebased outcomes.

Recommendation:
1. Shift toward non-competitive, multi-year block funding aligned with councils’ four-year Delivery Programs or Commonwealth election cycles.
2. Standardise reporting and governance requirements across government agencies.
3. Support regional collaboration rather than competition between councils.

07/05/2026

Congratulations Newcastle Cycleways Movement on your advocacy for accelerated and integrated delivery of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure within the Newcastle area. We encourage everyone to have a look at City of Newcastle's currently exhibited Operational Plan and Delivery Program (Delivering Newcastle 2040) and to provide feedback and suggested improvements.

Early next week we will provide some additional suggestions - focusing on community connectivity, active transport, integrated links to recreational and community facilities, and the need for co-ordinated construction and promotion of cross-regional initiatives like the long-planned Richmond Vale Rail Trail (RVRT) and the broader Composite S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway (Shiraz to Shore) ...

Earlier this year, Newcastle Cycleways Movement asked the community a simple question:It’s 2026 - is the City of Newcastle halfway to delivering their cycling vision?That question was framed around this plan review: City of Newcastle’s On Our Bikes 2021–2030 Cycling Plan reviewThe answer from ...

30/04/2026

Link to City of Newcastle's "Have Your Say" about 2026/2027 Draft Budgets ... See our recent Post for some (preliminary) Issues to Consider ... Link: https://haveyoursay.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/DN2040

27/04/2026

It’s Time to Start Constructing the Richmond Vale Rail Trail (RVRT):

We have reached somewhat of a ‘Crunch-Point’ when it comes to planning for and construction of the proposed Richmond Vale Rail Trail (RVRT) in the Hunter Valley (NSW, Australia).

The long-planned 32km+ RVRT route will traverse three LGAs (Cessnock, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle); it also forms the critical Middle or "Rail Trail and Wetlands Zone" section of the proposed broader, cross-regional 120km Composite Shiraz to Shore (S2S/RVRT) Shared Pathway between Wine Country and the Shores of Newcastle Harbour/Beach and Lake Macquarie. [Please see our Updated S2S/RVRT Presentation (March 2026) for further background, details and discussion: https://www.richmondvalerailtrail.org.au/news/updated-presentation-about-composite-s2srvrt-shared-pathway-hunter-valley-nsw-march-2026].

RVRT-related planning requirements and approvals vary along the route, influenced by a mixture of factors, including the terrain (e.g., coastal wetlands, ranges, urban/rural) and usage/management factors (e.g., public/private ownership, heritage considerations, prevailing Plans of Management).

While the existing Concept-level RVRT approvals based on Reviews of Environmental Factors (REFs) are largely not time limited, those based on formal Development Applications (DAs) tend to have 5-year Approval Windows. This includes the existing major Concept-level approval within Newcastle LGA (DA 2020/00641), which will lapse in December this year if appropriate construction has not commenced.

So … We need all of the RVRT’s Supporters, Advocates, Planners and Potential Funders to work together to ensure, firstly, that the existing DA Approvals do not lapse, and secondly, that there is ongoing, progressive and staged RVRT construction from here on – building on all of the good work and efforts during the past 20 years (not to mention the many $100,000’s of dollars already spent).

Some specific suggestions/steps for everyone to contemplate are listed below:

1. Draft Council Budgets. Please consider making a Brief Submission about City of Newcastle’s Draft Updated Delivery Program 2025-2029 and Operational Plan 2026/2027, which is expected to go on Public Exhibition after Tuesday night’s Council Meeting (28/4/2026) – see Pic01; Link to Have Your Say: https://haveyoursay.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/DN2040. Currently, there is no specific mention of any budget allocation for the RVRT, despite the need for some construction work to be undertaken before the end of this year (to avoid the lapse of DA 2020/00641). Likewise, there is no identified allocation of funds for potential land acquisition costs, despite related authorisations at the December 9th 2025 Council Meeting (Item 10.2). [However, it should be noted that some funds may have already been set aside for these actions, which are not itemised in the current Draft Operational Plan].

2. Capital Works Challenges. Given current local and global uncertainties, and the need for financial stability, it is perhaps unsurprising that Council’s Draft Capital Works Budget is $26m lower than last year’s allocation – see Pic02 for an overview. The Introduction to the Draft Report (Page 6) also suggests that approx. $4.3m is being allocated to cycleways projects – which is comparable to the $4.1m detailed in last year’s budget – however, among the items reported in the Capital Works Program (Pages 144 to 157), there are only a limited number of actual ‘Cycleways’ or ‘Shared Pathway’ projects, most of which have no 2026/2027 Budget Allocation, despite being categorised as ‘Delivery’ Stage.

3. Minmi to Fletcher (via Minmi Junction) RVRT Segments. Based on advice received, we have previously identified the Minmi to Fletcher RVRT segments as the most likely RVRT construction starting point within Newcastle LGA – see Pic03. Indeed, there was a $300,000 ‘Cycleways’ allocation in Council’s 2025/2026 Budget for ‘Minmi and Fletcher shared path connections (Design)’. While this item is also listed in the 2026/2027 Budget (on Page 150) and now tagged as ‘Delivery’ Stage, there is no further funding allocation; importantly, it is still listed as one of the ‘Major Projects ≥$1m’ in the Figure on Page 93 (see Pic03). Continued progress on planning and delivery of these community connections is central to the success of the RVRT (both locally and regionally), as well as to the broader Composite S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway. Likewise, completion of the planned Woodford Street (Minmi) shared pathway RVRT access needs to be prioritised (https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/about-us/news-and-updates/projects-and-works/roads-bridges/woodford-street,-minmi-road-infrastructure-improvements).

4. Activating the Existing RVRT DA Approval (DA 2020/00641). As illustrated in Pic04, only 13km of the RVRT within Newcastle LGA was included in the December 2021 major DA Approval, subject to 100 comprehensive Conditions of Consent. So, realistically, and with construction access/complexity and community connection firmly in mind, the choice of RVRT initial starting location is probably between Minmi (as highlighted above) and Shortland (along the King’s Trail leading to Ironbark Creek). The Shortland connection will also form part of a future major ‘active transport’ RVRT link to Tarro/Beresfield via Hexham Junction, including connections to on-road cycleways that are part of the Black Hill to Raymond Terrace M1 Extension.

5. Funding for Transformative Cross-regional Projects. It is also becoming increasingly obvious that local Councils find it very difficult to accumulate, attract or allocate funding for major community-enhancing cross-regional recreational, active transport and/or tourism-oriented projects like the RVRT or the broader Composite S2S/RVRT Shared Pathway. Essentially, we need the State Government to make major funding contributions, with proportionate assistance from Federal sources. To this end, we would like to encourage everyone to support and engage with agencies such as Local Business and Community Groups, and Hunter Joint Organisation of Councils (Hunter JO), both in their routine advocacy work and in their targeted campaigns – see Pic05. For example, a “Hunter MP Roundtable” is planned for June 2026 – so, ‘now’ would be a particularly good time to converse with your local ‘elected representatives’ (at all levels) about your views, preferences and priorities for the Hunter Region’s medium- to long-term future – including about community infrastructure projects like the RVRT and Composite S2S/RVRT.

6. Improved S2S/RVRT Co-ordination. We also need to advocate (again) for an active regional approach to S2S/RVRT co-ordination (to ensure the Composite Trail is integrated, valued and completed), including a concerted effort to attract funding for the historic Premier Sugarloaf Range RVRT section – given its uniqueness, overall attractiveness and tourist-drawing potential (e.g., three brick-lined railway tunnels; embankments and cuttings; access to conservation areas; and heritage and educational value).

Thanks to all of our RVRT and S2S supporters.

Newcastle Cycleways Movement
Hunter Joint Organisation
City of Newcastle
Charlotte McCabe for Mayor of Newcastle
Declan Clausen – Newcastle Labor
Gavin Morris
Cessnock City Council
Lake Macquarie City Council
Tim Crakanthorp MP
Sonia Hornery MP
Yasmin Catley MP
Sharon Claydon MP
Meryl Swanson MP
Dan Repacholi MP

15/04/2026

Portrait Eastern RVRT Promo: Apr. 2026, 3 Min 40 Sec