THE LATEST section on the Mary to Bay Rail Trail (M2BRT) was officially opened on Saturday August 26, with over 300 cyclists, walkers/runners and horse riders attending.
The 11 kilometre section of Rail Trail has been developed by Fraser Coast Bicycle User Group volunteers over the last two years on a licence issued by Queensland Transport and Main Roads.
Fraser Coast Regional Council and TMR have kindly supported the project with grant funding. This new section extends from the Takura Trailhead (formerly the Takura Railway Station) on Pialba-Torbanlea Road beside Koppers Wood Products to 3.8 kms west of Churchill Mine Road.
Cyclists, walkers/runners and horse riders are all welcome on this new section of the M2BRT.
When completed the Rail Trail will cover nearly 50 kilometres linking the heritage city of Maryborough with the seaside city of Hervey Bay.
The day started with cyclists and walkers/runners exploring the new portion of the M2BRT. The trail was officially opened by Bruce Saunders MLA.
Cyclists from many parts of Queensland and NSW attend the opening.
One cyclist travelled by train from Gosford to Brisbane then rode to Takura over several days on the Brisbane Valley and Kingaroy to Kilkivan Rail Trails.
Andrew Demack from Bicycle Queensland lead a party of cyclists up to Takura on the same route.
Each group cycled for nearly a week with no rest days.
The Hervey Bay Branch railway line was built in 1896 to Pialba opening some months early and it was extended to Urangan Pier in 1916.
Caltex built a fuel depot at Urangan in 1960 with a pipeline out to the end of the Pier to unload tankers.
By the mid 1980s passenger services had stopped as well as fuel transport and the line finally closed in 1993 with the line lifted back as far as Takura a couple of years later.
Hervey Bay City Council started building a walk/cycle path in the town section of the old corridor soon after which eventually became the Mary to Bay Rail Trail.
In recent years Fraser Coast Regional Council and now Fraser Coast Bicycle User Group have started developing the rural sections of the Rail Trail.
For more information check out the growing Mary2Bay RailTrail discussion group on Facebook. There are plenty of maps, information and shared experiences, all with a good dash of camaraderie.
