The network of railways throughout the length and breadth of Victoria played an essential role in pioneering the growth and prosperity of the State.
They opened up vast areas of agricultural land, laid the foundations for commercial and community development and remained the lifelines of rural Victoria until the 1950's. This system, publicly funded and operated for the benefit of all Victorian's, was arguably the most important policy initiative of the Victorian Parliament and did more for the prosperity and growth of rural and remote communities than any other single decision. For sixty years these railways were responsible for sustaining rural Victoria.
In 1997 the shires of Alpine and Indigo, and the Rural City of Wangaratta co-operatively developed a proposal to once again enable these railways to play a major role in the economic and community development of the region.
The proposal was to convert the historic path of the disused railways between the three townships of Wangaratta, Bright and Beechworth into a sealed cycling/walking track known as a rail trail.
The rail trail would establish a nationally significant tourism product, link existing tourist attractions and preserve magnificent historical structures along the route. It would connect four of Victoria's major tourist destinations, Bright, Beechworth, Rutherglen and the King Valley, to an existing railhead at Wangaratta that would soon become the hub of the trail network. Eventually creating a total network of trails exceeding 200kms, Murray to the Mountains would offer an uninterrupted Rail Trail of 94 kilometres in length.
Both the State and Federal Government has embraced the rail trail proposal and provided funding for its development.
'The development of the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail could not have been possible without a 1.9 million dollar grant from the Victorians Governments Community Support Fund.'
The three Local Government Councils continue to work cooperatively to maintain and further develop the trail as it grows in popularity with users everyday.