Murray to Mountains Rail Trail | |
---|---|
Length | 95 km |
Location | Victoria, Australia |
Difficulty | Easy to medium |
Hazards | Uncontrolled crossings of major highways |
Surface | Sealed, some sections of compact gravel |
Hills | Small undulating hills; Beechworth branch involves extended climb |
Water | Available in most towns |
Train(s) | Melbourne-Sydney line to start of route at Wangaratta |
Bus | Available in major towns |
The Murray to Mountains Rail Trail is a cycling and walking rail trail in northern Victoria, Australia. It extends from Wangaratta to Bright, with a side branch to Beechworth, following the route of the former Bright railway line. This side branch trail is planned to be extended from Beechworth to Yackandandah. AU$12m was budgeted by the Victoria State Government for this extension in May 2017. [1] Unusually for a rail trail, it is sealed for virtually the entire distance of approximately 95 kilometres.
Another section, from Rutherglen to Wahgunyah on the Murray was completed in 2009. There is an on-road "preferred route" connecting Rutherglen to Bowser via Chiltern. [2] A third section extends south from Wangaratta to Oxley, connecting with a bike path from there to Milawa.
Landmarks are as follows:
Wangaratta is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, 236 km (147 mi) from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census.
Yackandandah is a small tourist town in northeast Victoria, Australia. It is near the regional cities of Wodonga and Albury, and is close to the tourist town of Beechworth. At the 2021 census, Yackandandah had a population of 2,008.
Bright is a town in northeastern Victoria, Australia, 319 metres above sea level at the southeastern end of the Ovens Valley. At the 2021 census, Bright had a population of 2,620. It is located in the Alpine Shire local government area.
The Ovens River, a perennial river of the north-east Murray catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine and Hume regions of the Australian state of Victoria.
Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the 2021 census, Beechworth had a population of 3,290.
Everton is a small town located 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Wangaratta in northeast Victoria, along the Great Alpine Road. At the 2016 census, Everton and the surrounding area had a population of 203.
Sir John Bowser, Australian politician, was the 26th Premier of Victoria. He was born in London, the son of an army officer, and arrived in Melbourne as a child with his family. He grew up at Bacchus Marsh and when he left school got a job with the Bacchus Marsh Express. As a young man he went to Scotland and worked on newspapers while studying at University of Edinburgh. Returning to Australia, he settled in Wangaratta, where he farmed and managed the Wangaratta Chronicle, which he eventually bought.
The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray area. The name comes from the Ovens River, the river in the part of north-eastern Victoria covered by the league, and the Murray River, which separates Victoria and New South Wales.
Wangaratta railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of the same name, and opened on 28 October 1873.
Springhurst railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of the same name, and opened on 29 November 1873 as Springs. It was renamed Springhurst in October 1890.
The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Melbourne central business district to Albury railway station in the border settlement of Albury-Wodonga, serving the cities of Wangaratta and Seymour, and smaller towns in northeastern Victoria.
Inland Rail is a 1600-kilometre (990 mi) railway line under construction in Australia. Once complete, it will connect the Melbourne and Brisbane along a new route inland through Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland that allows for the use of double-stacked freight trains.
The Wangaratta Magpies Football Club, officially known as the Wangaratta Magpies Football & Netball Club, is an Australian rules football club, which first played in the Ovens and Murray Football League in 1893 and is based in Wangaratta, Victoria at the Wangaratta Showgrounds and play on the Norm Minns Oval.
The Electoral district of Wangaratta was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was created in the redistribution of 1904, the Electoral district of Wangaratta and Rutherglen being abolished.
The Whitfield railway line was a 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge railway located in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, branching from the main North East railway at Wangaratta to the terminus of Whitfield.
The Wahgunyah railway is a closed line in north-east Victoria, Australia. Branching off the main North East railway at Springhurst, it ran north-west to Wahgunyah.
Bowser is a closed railway station located just north of the city of Wangaratta, on the North East line, in Victoria, Australia. It served as the junction for the Peechelba East and Bright branch lines. The location was finally abolished as a block point after the conversion of the broad gauge line to form a centralised traffic control double track railway in 2010.
The Yackandandah railway line was a railway line in Victoria, Australia, constructed by the Victorian Railways. It was one of the earliest branch lines constructed in Victoria. The line served the major regional town of Beechworth, which had been active in campaigning for the main rail route into New South Wales to run via the town.
The Bright railway line was a railway line in Victoria, Australia constructed by the Victorian Railways as a branch from the previously constructed Yackandandah line to Beechworth, with the Bright line branching at Everton. The line followed the Ovens Valley opening as far as Myrtleford on 17 December 1883 being extended to Bright on 17 October 1890.
North East Victoria is an Australian Geographical Indication for a wine zone in the Australian state of Victoria. It includes five named wine regions: