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Help Castlemaine to Maryborough Rail Trail make history
Help Castlemaine to Maryborough Rail Trail make history

This month, Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail Inc. (CMRT) is looking to make history by attracting funding to get a 55km rail trail started – and you can help!

CMRT is running a campaign in February to raise $18,000 in just four weeks in a bid to attract up to $120,000 from Victorian Government's Enabling Tourism Fund (ETF). 

Their website states, "Under the government’s ETF guidelines, funding bids with co-contributions from councils and communities are more likely to be successful. Bidding for the ETF will be very competitive."

Janice Simpson, President of CMRT said: "Our fundraising so far has astonished us. We weren’t expecting our communities along the proposed trail to be so generous. This just goes to show how popular this proposal is. We’re hoping the State Government agrees."

Therefore, CMRT will be adding the February fundraising money to another $12,000 already pledged by the Mt Alexander and Central Goldfields shires, with the goal of attracting $4 state government funding for every $1 pledged. "We’re going for gold in the goldfields", Janice added.

To help reach this goal, CMRT is running two side-by-side campaigns: 

1. Foundation donors: For donations of $500+ to find out more download an information brochure here

2. Online donors: For donations of $20+ from the wider community click here to donate

Both kinds of donations will receive public recognition.

The first major step for the trail is a feasibility study that, forecast to cost around $120,000-$150,000.

CMRT has been campaigning for a feasibility study since late 2020 and has already attracted more than 4000 petition signatures, 

In Spring, both councils pledged a combined $12,000 towards a study. The ETF is a big opportunity to get an expert study spanning both shires fully funded.

CMRT is advocating to build a world-class recreational trail on the disused rail corridor between Castlemaine and Maryborough. An exciting feature of the proposed trail is that it has a train line to Melbourne at both ends.

You can learn more about CMRT and support their worthy campaign via their website.

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