Receive Our Free Email News
Stay up to date with the latest news about Rail Trails with our free email news.
Register for news updatesGood news for rail trail development in Far North Queensland
Mareeba Shire Council have recently announced the upgrade of 8km of rail trails. This good news comes some 9 years after the development of the Atherton Tableland Rail Trail (ATRT) which runs for 20.5km from Atherton to Walkamin.
On 16 February 2022, Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin welcomed FNQ RTA representative Peter Tuck and Sixties and Over (SAO) cyclists group to Council Chambers. The group visited council to celebrate the announcement of upcoming works which are part of Council’s 3 year Parks and Open Spaces Action Plan.
It is expected that the trail upgrade will be in 3 stages, ie. 8 km from Mareeba township to Mareeba Airport in this financial year and a further 8 km from the airport to Walkamin in the next 2 years.
This upgrade will ultimately result in a total network distance of 36km of the ATRT which also links to a shared use trail (under construction on the southern side of Atherton) and managed by Atherton Herberton Historic Rail Inc.
We congratulate Mareeba Shire Council for taking the initiative to invest in the region’s rail trails!
More News
If you live in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, regional Victoria and NSW, Adelaide and Tasmania and are available to count bik...
Long-standing rail trail supporter Ms Rosamund Lesley Heit has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in...
Rail Trails Australia had 289,000 visits to its website in 2025, many by people looking for information on specific rail...
Byron Shire in northern NSW is working on getting approvals and funding for the transition of the 132km rail corridor th...
A 49km rail trail west from New Norfolk to mountain bike park centre Maydena is an exciting proposition from Derwent Val...
Pioneer Valley Rail Trail volunteers Mike and Margie Browne have won an Excellence in Community Project Achievement awar...
Update: as of 25 January 2026, Cycle Dindi 26 has been postponed due to damage to the Great Victorian Rail Trail (GVRT)....
Construction has begun on the next 1.5km stretch of the Yarra Valley Trail in Victoria, which will extend to the Birraru...
We know that rail trails are not exclusively enjoyed by cyclists: horse-riders, runners, walkers and mobility aid users ...
Queensland’s Somerset Regional Council and City of Moreton Bay have confirmed they have undertaken a Multi Criteri...
Hilltops Council is inviting the community to have their say on the Boorowa Galong Rail Trail Concept. The concept explo...
The 2026 Victorian bushfires caused widespread damage to many communities and also severely damaged 2 rail trails in nor...
Northern Tasmania’s Latrobe Council and Kentish Council have released the Latrobe-Kentish Trails Strategy to guide the...
Friends of The Bendigo – Kilmore Rail Trail (FBKRT) continue to improve the O’Keefe Rail Trail, with 2 recent wo...
In December, Logan City Council (bordering Brisbane) decided to proceed with a staged development of the 11.5km section ...
As Rail Trails Australia (RTA) ramps up its efforts to assist New South Wales increase the number of rail trails in the ...
Calendar of Events
See upcoming eventsNews Archives
Receive Our Free Email News
Stay up to date with the latest news about Rail Trails with our free email news.
Register for news updatesFeatured Articles
Celebrating RTA’s Volunteers
26/05/25
More News
If you live in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, regional Victoria and NSW, Adelaide and Tasmania and are available to count bik...
Long-standing rail trail supporter Ms Rosamund Lesley Heit has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in...
Rail Trails Australia had 289,000 visits to its website in 2025, many by people looking for information on specific rail...
Byron Shire in northern NSW is working on getting approvals and funding for the transition of the 132km rail corridor th...
A 49km rail trail west from New Norfolk to mountain bike park centre Maydena is an exciting proposition from Derwent Val...
Pioneer Valley Rail Trail volunteers Mike and Margie Browne have won an Excellence in Community Project Achievement awar...
Update: as of 25 January 2026, Cycle Dindi 26 has been postponed due to damage to the Great Victorian Rail Trail (GVRT)....
Construction has begun on the next 1.5km stretch of the Yarra Valley Trail in Victoria, which will extend to the Birraru...
We know that rail trails are not exclusively enjoyed by cyclists: horse-riders, runners, walkers and mobility aid users ...
Queensland’s Somerset Regional Council and City of Moreton Bay have confirmed they have undertaken a Multi Criteri...
Hilltops Council is inviting the community to have their say on the Boorowa Galong Rail Trail Concept. The concept explo...
The 2026 Victorian bushfires caused widespread damage to many communities and also severely damaged 2 rail trails in nor...
Northern Tasmania’s Latrobe Council and Kentish Council have released the Latrobe-Kentish Trails Strategy to guide the...
Friends of The Bendigo – Kilmore Rail Trail (FBKRT) continue to improve the O’Keefe Rail Trail, with 2 recent wo...
In December, Logan City Council (bordering Brisbane) decided to proceed with a staged development of the 11.5km section ...
As Rail Trails Australia (RTA) ramps up its efforts to assist New South Wales increase the number of rail trails in the ...
3 comments on “Good news for rail trail development in Far North Queensland”
Love the Walkamin to Atherton section and done it many times. More interesting is the line north from Walkamin down the rise towards Mareeba. It’s a shame to see the deteration in the last 12 months. Mainly due to loss of about 5 drains. Major erosion in one section due to a Telstra dozer wrecking a drain as it passed through a couple of years back. The section is still passable walking and biking
Great news.
Great to hear. Look forward to returning and riding this additional section.