Constraints, costs force cancellation of Kerang-Koondrook Rail Trail

Published on 17 April 2025

Gannawarra Shire Council has made the difficult decision to cancel the development of the Kerang to Koondrook Rail Trail due to project constraints and projected costs.

Councillors made the decision at the April 2025 Council Meeting to cease further planning for the proposed 22-kilometre rail trail that would have utilised sections of the former Kerang-Koondrook tramway.

“Council has spent many years working with the community on the viability of the Kerang-Koondrook Rail Trail, which would have benefited residents and tourists wanting to explore the area between two of the Gannawarra’s largest towns on bike or by foot,” Mayor Garner Smith said.

“Unfortunately, extensive investigation, design, costing, environmental assessments, and safety evaluations undertaken as part of planning for this project identified critical barriers, including significant environmental impacts, safety concerns regarding route alignment, and prohibitive project costs estimated at over $20 million.

“Council invested considerable time and resources investigating this proposal and is conscious that Council’s financial contribution was significant. Council hopes that the Kerang-Koondrook Rail Trail study can provide value for money to the community in the future.”

The project gained traction in 2022 when Council received $500,000 from the State Government’s Regional Development Victoria Investment Fast Track Fund to assist with planning for the project, with an additional $125,000 from Council’s 2022/2023 Budget used to complete these efforts.

Work occurred during the next two years to investigate the development of the trail, which was proposed to connect to the Kerang railway station and the Koondrook central business district via one of two routes: One that would take users along the northern boundary of the Kerang Regional Park and Fosters Swamp; or along Airport Road and the southern boundary of Fosters Swamp.

“The investigations found that Fosters Swamp forms part of the Ramsar-listed Kerang Wetlands, and as part of this international agreement, there are significant guidelines relating to any infrastructure constructed within these locations,” Mayor Smith said.

“It was also found that both routes would pass through areas of federally-protected endangered grasses, with cattle underpasses and narrow roadsides other concerns that the proposal would have needed to address.

“These investigations also found that an eight-kilometre section of the trail near Kerang would be prone to flooding, which would require Council funding to repair as these works are usually not covered under State and Federal government-related Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements funding.”

Several options were considered to modify the trail’s proposed route to ensure the project met community expectations, including constructing a cycling track alongside Kerang-Koondrook Road and developing a separate walking/cycling loop near Kerang, however these were ruled out due to safety concerns.

As a result of these findings, Council announced in November 2024 it would work with the community on an alternative proposal involving a nine-kilometre trail between Koondrook and the former Hinkson railway station.

“During the past few months Council has met with the Kerang Progress Association, Koondrook Development Committee, Kerang Landcare and Loddon Murray Cycling Club to discuss the project and alternative proposal, with the majority of these groups wanting Council to proceed with the initial proposal,” Mayor Smith said.

“At a projected cost of $20 million to complete, Council would need to rely on significant investment from the State and Federal governments to complete this project, which would impact other key community priorities such as the redevelopment of our ageing swimming pools and improvements to our urban stormwater networks and riverine flood protection levee systems.

“My fellow Councillors and I thank the groups involved in initially developing the proposed Kerang-Koondrook Rail Trail and look forward to building on the relationships made with these groups as we work together to support our residents’ needs.”