East Gippsland’s Rail Trail is proving a drawcard for international cyclists. 
Riding from Melbourne to Cairns by bicycle is not for the faint-hearted but in recent times Bairnsdale Warmshowers hosts, Maya and Malcolm Mathieson, have had two Japanese cyclists stay on their way to start riding the rail trail from Bairnsdale to Orbost.
Warmshowers is a worldwide non-profit hos-pitality exchange service for people engaging in bicycle touring and there are now about a dozen hosts in East Gippsland, including eight between Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance.
They offer a free bed, or a camp spot, for cyclists to stay.
Often the hosts themselves have travelled by bicycle in other parts of the world, as the Mathiesons have, while living in Thailand.
The Mathiesons most recent guest was Mei Murakami, from Japan, who took a couple of nights to avoid the rain before setting off on the popular rail trail in East Gippsland.
Mr Mathieson said he and his wife know what every cyclist needs, which is most often a washing machine, a warm shower and a good night’s sleep.
Mei will take three months to reach Cairns caring a 17-kilogram rucksack with all her possessions.
Like most touring cyclists she travels as light as possible and her major expense is fuel - not the sort most travellers use, but in the case of cyclists, food.
The cyclists also support local small busi-nesses as they ‘refuel’ at any possible stop.
The East Gippsland Rail Trail is unique in Australia as it passes through the forests of East Gippsland and highlights old rail bridges.
Recent upgrades to the trail have improved the surface in sections, but it’s hoped more funding will be forthcoming to improve facil-ities, and the surface, all the way to Orbost.

IMAGE: Mei Murakami, from Japan, was recently in East Gippsland cycling the rail trail and stayed with local Warmshowers hosts in Bairnsdale. (PS)

The East Gippsland Rail Trail Committee of Management has expressed dismay that its application for a grant to fund major upgrades to the trail surface was rejected.

The Rail Trail committee had applied for $5 million under the Local Economic Recovery Program, which was set up to fund projects in areas affected by the bushfires.

While it is jointly funded by the State and Federal governments, the State is responsible for doing the assessment of applications requesting grants.

Chairperson of the rail trail committee, Al Campbell, said management applied for the funding in order to carry out major upgrades to the full length of the 95km track which extends from Bairnsdale to Newmerella.

“We wanted to create a fantastic asset for the people of East Gippsland and generate economic opportunities for people in those townships along the rail trail who were affected by the bushfires,” Mr Campbell said.

“We even broke the project up into segments”, Mr Campbell said, which would have allowed scope for funding particular sections of the trail.

“None of it was funded, not a brass razzu.”

“It’s a lost opportunity, we’re just really disappointed for the whole area.

“We are surprised and frustrated but we’ll keep working to try and source funds for major upgrades.”

He described the rail trail as a “regional facility that requires proper investment that will attract more people”.

“The economic flow-on for the area is enormous,” Mr Campbell said, citing communities such as Bruthen, Wairewa and Tostaree, which bore the brunt of the bushfires, as having missed an opportunity to benefit from the rail trail’s upgrade.

Mr Campbell said along with the track surface, several small bridges on the trail were also in need of urgent repair.

“Some of them are falling to pieces,” he said. Mr Campbell said the committee had also planned to use the funds to provide roadcrossing safety upgrades, improve signage, and undertake vegetation management and erosion control.

He said the work would have been carried out using local contractors, suppliers and labour, thus providing a flow-on effect to the folk of East Gippsland, who’ve been scarred by the bushfires.

“We run on the smell of an oily rag, we’re a volunteer committee of management and receive very little in the way of funding from anybody,” Mr Campbell said.

Late last year the Snowy River Bridge at Orbost received $3.5 million for restoration works.

Mr Campbell said the bridge is completely separate from the rail trail but wonders whether there was confusion from the bureaucrats in relation to whether it was part of the same project.

“We have a suspicion that the bureaucrats thought we managed the bridge as part of our management and funded that thinking it would be an upgrade of the entire rail trail, which it’s not,” he said.

“We’ve now asked for detailed information about why our grant request was unsuccessful,” Mr Campbell said.

“We just want to find out where we went wrong because we think it was the most supported grant application for the district.”

IMAGE: Al Campbell, chairperson of the East Gippsland Rail Trail Committee of Management, says he’s “disappointed” that an upgrade of the trail was overlooked. K30-9498

Work is set to start on the biggest upgrade of the East Gippsland Rail Trail in its 30-year history, thanks to a $2 million Federal Government grant.
Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, has secured the $2 million, on top of the $1.5 million received under the local economic recovery program, from the Black Summer Bushfires.
Mr Chester said he had been working closely with the committee of management for more than two years to seek Federal Government funding and thanked the volunteers for their efforts.
“It’s been a challenge for decades to secure enough funding to upgrade the rail trail which has the potential to be an iconic attraction for our region,” Mr Chester said.
“Ever since rail services ended in 1987 and the track infrastructure was removed in 1994, we have struggled to get the funding required to upgrade and maintain this 100-kilometre trail.
“This funding will enable significant capital works on projects like resurfacing the roughest sections, improving drainage, replacing bridges, and sealing approaches to towns which carry the most cycling and pedestrian traffic.
“Boosting the overall rail trail experience will support the visitor economy and encourage locals to enjoy a more active lifestyle.”
Mr Chester inspected sections of the trail near Orbost where gravel field trials have been undertaken on the best material to resurface the trail.
“Coming on top of the $1.5 million jointly funded state-federal bushfire money, this additional $2 million will help to make a huge improvement to the surface,” Mr Chester said.
“There’s always work to be done on a trail of this length and it’s a great credit to all the current volunteers, and previous committee members, that they have been able to maintain the asset with very little government support.
“Combined with projects like the historic Snowy River Trestle Bridge upgrade, these works will create jobs during construction and in the longer term.
“We need to keep improving our infrastructure on public land to support the visitor economy and give locals more opportunities to enjoy healthy, active lifestyles in our region.”
Committee chair Alistair Campbell said work by local contractors would start before Christmas and continue for at least 12 months, subject to weather conditions.
“We have a world-class rail trail but limited resources to present it properly to the public,” Mr Campbell said.
“Rail trails are growing in popularity around Australia, and the unique East Gippsland experience of almost 100 kilometres between Bairnsdale to Orbost, with spectacular trestle bridges and natural landscapes, can drive future growth in the local economy,” he said.
“Improving safety and the trail experience of cyclists and walkers will be the focus of this work and the committee will continue to seek funding support for further improvements and a sustainable maintenance program.
“We certainly welcome the funding we have received and look forward to delivering a world-class rail trail experience for locals and visitors to our region.”

IMAGE: East Gippsland Rail Trail committee of management chair, Al Campbell, and Federal MP, Darren Chester, inspect a field trial site near Orbost. Resurfacing of large sections of the trail will be made possible with a total of $3.5 million in government funding. (PS)

Significant upgrades to the East Gippsland Rail Trail are set to commence in coming weeks.
Works being undertaken include cleaning of culverts or replacement to address drainage and erosion issues, bridge repairs or complete rebuild, road crossing safety standardisation, fencing and installation of barriers to prevent illegal access to the trail, together with surface upgrades including sealing the heavily used parts of the trail around Nicholson, Bruthen and Nowa Nowa.
Samples of gravel have been laid at Newmerella to determine the most suitable material to be used on the remainder of the trail.
As part of the upgrades, two water fountains are being installed, potentially around Newmerella and Mossiface, together with two picnic tables with bench seats.
Due to the use of heavy machinery, sections of the trail will need to be closed, at times, to enable contractors to safely undertake the works.
Notification of closures will be advised via the Rail Trail’s Facebook and Instagram pages and website.
The volunteer committee of management has worked hard to obtain funding for the upgrades through various sources.

IMAGE: East Gippsland Rail Trail is about to undergo upgrades across multiple section of the track. (PS)