The Port Fairy - Warrnambool Rail Trail is a 37 kilometre

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

in southwestern Victoria, Australia. The official opening of the trail took place on 31 May 2012 at the Koroit Railway station building. The trail begins in Port Fairy, running north then east through Koroit where it turns back southeast to Warrnambool. About two thirds is within

Moyne Shire The Shire of Moyne is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 16,887. It includes the towns of Port ...

and one third within

Warrnambool City The City of Warrnambool is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 34,862. It is entirely surro ...

. The overall construction cost of the project was approximately $2.2 million. The trail from Port Fairy to Illowa follows the path of a former branch line which ran from Port Fairy to Warrnambool and connected with the Melbourne-Ararat line, via Hamilton. This branch line was commissioned in 1884, completed in 1890. It served primarily to connect the ports of Warrnambool and Port Fairy with destinations inland. With declining port usage, the line closed in 1977. The trail from Illowa to Warrnambool is not on the former rail track alignment, as that section of the rail reservation has been utilized for a realignment of the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

. Instead, from Lane's Lane to Millers Lane, the trail follows the old alignment of the Princess Highway (now called Illowa Road) for several kilometres on a dedicated bicycle lane beside the roadway. The bicycle lane has been fenced off to provide greater safety. From the end of Millers Lane, the trail continues south off-road across Kelly's Swamp, then east parallel to the coast to Levy's Point. From there, the trail largely follows the cutting of the Merri River virtually all the way to the end of the trail at the Warrnambool Breakwater.http://www.portfairytowarrnamboolrailtrail.com/documents/RailTrailMap_000.pdf File:Port Fairy Station Stevage.jpg, Old station building at Port Fairy. File:Port Fairy Warrnambool Rail Trail 1 Stevage.jpg, Leaving Port Fairy. File:Port Fairy Warrnambool Rail Trail 2 Stevage.jpg, Information board, leaving Port Fairy. File:Port Fairy Warrnambool Rail Trail 4 Stevage.jpg File:Port Fairy Warrnambool Rail Trail 7 Stevage.jpg, Remnant bushland, between Port Fairy and Koroit. File:Port Fairy Warrnambool Rail Trail 9 Stevage.jpg, Kirkstall station site. File:Koroit Station Stevage.jpg, Koroit Station File:Port Fairy Warrnambool Rail Trail 11 Stevage.jpg, Ilowa Road. File:Port Fairy Warrnambool Rail Trail 12 Stevage.jpg, Kelly Swamp section. File:Port Fairy Warrnambool Rail Trail 13 Stevage.jpg, Outskirts of Warrnambool.

External links

Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail
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References

*http://www.bv.com.au/change-the-world/11084/ *http://www.railtrails.org.au/states/trails.php3?action=trail&trail=39 *http://www.portfairytowarrnamboolrailtrail.com/ Rail trails in Victoria (Australia) Warrnambool {{BarwonSouthWest-geo-stub