East: Eastern Rail Line Trail - Mitcham to Yarra River

Over the years cyclist have used roads and paths parallel to the Ringwood rail line as a bicycle route between Mitcham and the Main Yarra Trail in Burnley (Melway 44 K11).

There are some tricky road crossings and it's mostly on-road but is used by many cyclists heading to/from the city. Click here for a map.

 

Box Hill to Ringwood Trail proposal

2 August 2010. Local riders have launched an ambitious bid to get the Box Hill to Ringwood Rail Trail—a vital link for riders in Melbourne's east—rolling at last.

Mike Symon MP, federal member for Deakin, launched the Whitehorse Cyclists Box Hill to Ringwood Rail Trail (BHRRT) proposal this week.

The BHRRT concept is supported by the City of Whitehorse and City of Maroondah.

Whitehorse Cyclists has now published a detailed, costed proposal for this project. Whitehorse Cyclists see this as a vital piece of cycling infrastructure and hope to engage the support of local representatives at all three levels of government.

Whitehorse Cyclists says there are many benefits in the project for local and more distant commuters, and for access to the 20 schools along the route, as well as the Activity Centres of Ringwood an Box Hill.

The Springvale Road grade separation project was a disappointment with poor provision for cyclists, as was the Victorian government’s rejection of City of Whitehorse’s request in 2009 for a grant of $40,000 to carry out a survey of the ERT within Whitehorse.

Whitehorse Cyclists resolved to conduct a survey itself on a voluntary basis to contribute to the planning effort and to show that the 9.9km rail trail would be feasible.

The City of Whitehorse and VicRoads can now take up the broad plans contained in the report, engage with VicTrack and proceed with the necessary detailed design and planning activities to bring this project to fruition progressively within the next few years.

Mike Symon MP has clearly indicated support of the federal Government while recognizing the need for key involvement of local and state governments.

The full report can be viewed at www.bhrrt.org

 

Eastern Rail Trail

Whitehorse City Council are looking to revisit the Eastern Rail Trail. Many local riders have consistently been pushing for this vital link and so the council is looking to review the now 10 year old strategy. In coming months council will be asking for public input for feedback and Bicycle Victoria for input. When we hear more we shall be asking you to help the council help cycling in this area.

Feasibility study

In 1996 a feasibility study was carried out on the rail line route to see if a 3m wide trail utlilising railway and other easements would cater for both commuter and recreational cyclists. The study found:

• The trail is a feasible option and in fact could be developed immediately as a 23 km on-road route generally following the railway line
• The 18 km ultimate trail could be constructed generally along the edge of the Public Transport Corporation land and road and other reservations
• Research into the potential users of the trail has indicated that the Eastern Rail Trail could provide a major facility for nearly 50,000 train commuters each day as well as a good proportion of the over 800,000 trips within the 3 km corridor of the Eastern Rail Trail.