accessibility statement

Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek Section

At Murwillumbah Railway Station there is ground level access directly to the trail and 2 access ramps to the platform – each located at the northern and southern ends of the platform. There are 2 designated accessible parking bays adjacent to the trail entry at ground level. Direct access to the trail from the platform is via the access ramps and ground level trail entry point.

As a former Railway Station, there is a drop between the platform and the track below. The platform edge is clearly signposted, has tactile ground surface indicators and high contrast colour as a precaution. The helpful staff at the Visitor Information Centre at the Murwillumbah Railway Station can assist with trail related enquiries and information about amenities and access.

Casino to Lismore section 

Old Casino Station – 48 untimed parking spaces, two of which are accessible spaces; Spring Grove car park – Spring Grove has a bus turn around bay, along with 122 untimed spaces, two of which are accessible spaces; Naughtons Gap car park has six untimed car and trailer spaces to allow easier access to the bridle trail, as well as three untimed car spaces; Bentley Road car park has 32 untimed car spaces, two accessible spaces, and eight car and trailer spaces.

At the car park adjacent to the Lismore Railway Station there is ground level access directly to the Rail Trail. There are also two designated accessible parking bays.

Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek Section

At Murwillumbah Railway Station, there are 2 dedicated accessible parking bays at the northern end of the Station adjacent to the ground level entry for the trail and ramp access to the platform. There is also a dedicated set down/bus bay at the southern entry of the Station with an access ramp available to the platform.

At Burringbar, there is a designed accessible parking bay located at Burringbar Memorial Reserve and Masterson Park for users to travel along the sealed asphalt section that connects to Mooball. The remainder of the trail has lots of general parking within the public road network.

Casino to Lismore section 

There is ground level access directly to the trail head and there are two designated accessible parking bays adjacent to the trail entry at ground level.

At the car park adjacent to the Lismore Railway Station, there are two dedicated accessible parking spots adjacent to the ground level entry for the Rail Trail.

Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek Section

There are existing public toilets located at Stokers, Burringbar, Mooball and Crabbes Creek townships. All are heritage or older facilities, which are not compliant with current Australian Standards for disabled access and mobility, and may not be accessible for people with disability. We understand this presents a challenge for some people in community to access and enjoy the trail, and we are committed to make access improvements as funding becomes available.

A current priority is to construct an accessible toilet at the Murwillumbah Railway Station and this will be completed and opened as soon as possible pending the heritage approvals to do so. Council’s Rail Trail and Parks and Active Communities teams will actively seek funding to deliver improved village connections and public infrastructure along the trail.

Casino to Lismore section 

Toilets are located at Bentley Road car park. There are also public toilets located at the Old Casino Station, which are older facilities and not compliant with Australian Standards for disabled access and mobility and may not be accessible for people with disability. Planning is underway to construct an accessible toilet at the Spring Grove Road car park.

Along Union Street, Lismore in front of the Rail Trail car parking there are male and female public toilets (some features are non-compliant with current Australian Standards for disabled access and mobility.) Options to build an accessible toilet are being pursued.

Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek Section

The rail trail surface is a combination of sealed asphalt and compact gravel that is accessible and suitable for a wide range of users and mobility devices. This 24 kilometre section features 6 kilometres of sealed asphalt in 2 high traffic sections. One section is between the Murwillumbah Railway Station to the Tweed Regional Gallery and the second section is between Burringbar and Mooball townships. The remaining 18 kilometres is a solid compacted gravel, suitable for mobility scooters and devices.

Casino to Lismore section 

The rail trail surface is a combination of sealed asphalt and compact gravel which is accessible, durable and suitable for a wide range of users and mobility devices. There is a sealed asphalt section at the Naughtons Gap tunnel and additional concrete sections at key entry points for improved accessibility. The whole path is suitable for mobility scooters and devices.

Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek Section

There are 7 rest stop areas along the trail including the trailhead at Murwillumbah Railway Station, Tweed Regional Gallery, Stokes Siding, Upper Burringbar, Burringbar, Mooball and Crabbes Creek. The majority feature a shade structure, bike racks and a picnic table and bench style seating. Water is available at Murwillumbah Railway Station, Burringbar and Mooball.

Casino to Lismore section 

There are eleven rest stop areas along the Casino to Lismore section including the Old Casino Station, Spring Grove car park, Naughtons Gap car park, Naughtons Gap Tunnel and the Bentley Road car park. The majority feature a shade structure, bike racks and a picnic table and bench style seating. Water is available at Old Casino Station.

There are six new rest stops on the Lismore side of the Back Creek Bridge, Bentley including Lismore Railway Station, Rifle Range Road, Kyogle Road/Cubawee, Leycester Station (Lilly Pond), Back Creek Bridge, Leycester, and Oakey Creek/Bungabbee Road. All feature a shelter, a picnic table, and bench-style seating. Drinking water is available at the Lismore Railway Station and at the first rest stop at Rifle Range Road (approximately 5 km from Lismore Railway Station).

Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek Section

There is a ramp at Murwillumbvah Railways Station that is fully accessible and connect the platform to ground level access of the trail. There are concrete pathways connecting the trail to the existing public toilets at Burringbar and Mooball townships. The pathway that connects the rail trail to the Tweed Regional Gallery is not accessible and features steep inclines and several sets of stairs. There are no other stairs on the Rail Trail.

Casino to Lismore section

There is a pathway connecting the trail to the public toilets at the Bentley Road car park.

The Northern Rivers Rail Trail welcomes assistance animals on all areas of the open sections. In line with the existing trail rules, all dogs must be on a short lead at all times. Owners must pick up after their dogs.

The Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek section offers a 24 kilometre continuous path of travel through rural and urban townships and stunning natural environment, however some sections of the Rail Trail are more accessible for people with disability than others, in terms of accessible amenities, toilets and parking nearby. This is because the rail trail project and construction budget was only tasked to deliver the shared-user path and related signage.

During the course of construction, Council conducted 2 audits on the Rail Trail and the Murwillumbah Railway Station to identify existing access features available and where improvements were needed. We are committed to continue to improve the access of the rail trail for everyone to enjoy, and as funding becomes available, we will work hard to make those improvements over time.

For future plans and projects please visit: Future plans and projects | Northern Rivers Rail Trail

Northern Rivers Rail Trail strives to ensure that its services are accessible to people with disabilities. Northern Rivers Rail Trail has invested a significant amount of resources to help ensure that its website is made easier to use and more accessible for people with disabilities, with the strong belief that every person has the right to live with dignity, equality, comfort and independence.

We are committed to providing equal access to our community, including via our website and customer services. Our vision for the website is to significantly enhance the online customer experience and make it easy for residents, businesses and visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for regardless of location, age, ability or technology.

Web content accessibility

northernriversrailtrail.com.au makes available the UserWay Website Accessibility Widget that is powered by a dedicated accessibility server. The software allows northernriversrailtrail.com.au to improve its compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1).

Using this website and enabling the accessibility menu

Our website has been designed to work on all devices and browsers, however you may experience some limitations on older technologies, such as Internet Explorer browser.

The northernriversrailtrail.com.au accessibility menu can be enabled either by hitting the tab key when the page first loads or by clicking the accessibility menu icon that appears on the top left corner of the page. After triggering the accessibility menu, please wait a moment for the accessibility menu to load in its entirety.

If possible, try to use a modern browser such as Chrome or Safari.

Navigation

For keyboard only users we have a ‘skip to content’ link at the top of each page, hidden from standard view, that appears as the first item when tabbing through the page.

The site allows keyboard users to tab through all menus and content. You can use arrow keys to move through options within a container such as a drop-down. Pressing the Escape key dismisses a menu or container.

Reading text aloud

Most modern computers and devices such as phone and tablets have in-built software that can automatically read the text aloud for you on this website.

Font size and zooming

The website has been optimised for you to zoom in and out, which also increases or decreases the font size.

Use the in-built controls of your browser, we’ve included some guidance and links below.

Photos and videos

All images have a meaningful description, known as ‘alt text’, which means it is read aloud when using a screen reader, for example.

Most of our videos are uploaded to our YouTube channel and include subtitles or captions. The videos are often embedded within a web page and can be played directly without needing to leave the website.

Documents and downloads

We generally try to provide information as content on the page for the best accessibility, however documentation and downloads are mainly available in Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF).

To view or print PDF documents you will need the free software Adobe Acrobat Reader. Read more about Adobe’s commitment to accessibility.

Printing

Pages on this website are optimised for printing.

If you’re using a keyboard, you can usually hold down Ctrl (or Command on Mac) and press P. This should open your browser’s print window to select where you’d like to print to.

Refer to Apple’s website for printing on an iPhone or iPad.

Disclaimer

Northern Rivers Rail Trail continues its efforts to constantly improve the accessibility of its site and services in the belief that it is our collective moral obligation to allow seamless, accessible and unhindered use also for those of us with disabilities.

In an ongoing effort to continually improve and remediate accessibility issues, we also regularly scan northernriversrailtrail.com.au with UserWay’s Free Website Accessibility Scanner to identify and fix every possible accessibility barrier on our site.

Despite our efforts to make all pages and content on northernriversrailtrail.com.au fully accessible, some content may not have yet been fully adapted to the strictest accessibility standards. This may be a result of not having found or identified the most appropriate technological solution.

Contact Us

If you wish to report an accessibility issue, have any questions or need assistance, please contact Northern Rivers Rail Trail as follows:

Email: hello@northernriversrailtrail.com.au

Phone: 02 6673 0404

Planning My Visit to the Northern Rivers Rail Trail

A social script to help me feel prepared and comfortable.

What is the Northern Rivers Rail Trail?

The Northern Rivers Rail Trail is a safe and mostly flat path where I can walk, ride a bike, or use a mobility aid. It goes through towns and countryside, and there are signs along the way to help me know where I am.

Getting There

• I can travel by car to one of the trail access points.

• Some places have car parks, toilets, and places to rest.

• I can check a map online before I go to see where to start and finish.

• If I need help, I can ask a friend, family member, or carer to come with me.

What Will I See and Do?

• I will be outside. There may be sunshine, wind, or rain.

• I might see trees, animals, farms, or other people using the trail.

• I can walk, ride, or roll as far as I want and turn around when I’m ready.

• There are signs and markers to guide me.

What Might I Hear?

• Birds, people talking, bikes going past, or leaves rustling.

• Sometimes there may be traffic noises near towns or crossings.

• These sounds are normal and part of being outdoors.

People on the Trail

• Some people may be walking, riding bikes, running, or walking dogs.

• Everyone is welcome on the trail.

• If someone passes me, they might say “hello” or “thank you.”

• I can smile or wave back if I feel comfortable.

Staying Safe

• I should stay to the left side of the trail.

• If I need to stop, I can move to the side.

• There are rest stops and shaded areas along the way.

• I can bring water, snacks, sunscreen, and a hat.

Facilities and Amenities

• There are toilets at some entry points.

• Some places have cafés or shops nearby.

• I can check the website map to see where these are before I go.

If I Feel Overwhelmed

• It’s okay to take a break.

• I can sit and breathe slowly.

• I can leave the trail at any time.

• I can talk to my support person or call someone I trust.

Need Help?

I can visit the Rail Trail website for maps and information.
If I’m unsure, I can email or call the Rail Trail team before I go.