West Coast ABT railway likely to close.

[doogs]

With plenty of talk of cable cars on Mount Wellington and Mount Roland another similar tourist venture is unfortunately about to close. http://www.themercury.com.au/article/20 ... -news.html

[stepbystep]

I could be wrong Doogs but I get the feeling Federal have pulled out because they were cheesed off with the state govt shirking their end of the maintenance thing.
I get a feeling the govt will be forced to find the cash to keep it going or make it more attractive to a new operator..??

Hope so anyhow

[doogs]

I could be wrong Doogs but I get the feeling Federal have pulled out because they were cheesed off with the state govt shirking their end of the maintenance thing.
I get a feeling the govt will be forced to find the cash to keep it going or make it more attractive to a new operator..??

Hope so anyhow

I hope so too, it's not just the 40 or so folk who work on the railway but hundreds of other people may well find that their job isn't there next year or with far fewer hours of work.

[stepbystep]

I could be wrong Doogs but I get the feeling Federal have pulled out because they were cheesed off with the state govt shirking their end of the maintenance thing.
I get a feeling the govt will be forced to find the cash to keep it going or make it more attractive to a new operator..??

Hope so anyhow

I hope so too, it's not just the 40 or so folk who work on the railway but hundreds of other people may well find that their job isn't there next year or with far fewer hours of work.

Yep and aside from the people affected it's a great asset for the state, once it's closed the forest would reclaim it quick.

[fenlok]

Bizarre to have spent millions in getting it up and running only to close after a few short years... what has it been 15 years or so?

Some have pointed out that while this railway can't find the money needed for upgrades, the cash is forthcoming for upgrading Bellerive Oval to a larger capacity (even though it hasn't been at capacity for any event as it is)?!?

Priorities... *&%$#! creek... lack of a paddle etc..

[Strider]

It has been 10 years since the WCWR opened. At a cost of $35M.

Funnily enough, I never heard a good word spoken of it in the 6 years that I lived in Strahan.

[Lindsay]

It has been 10 years since the WCWR opened. At a cost of $35M.

Funnily enough, I never heard a good word spoken of it in the 6 years that I lived in Strahan.

What was the problem? Seems that anything that may bring tourist dollars/employment with little environmental impact would be a good thing.

[Strider]

Just not a great experience compared to the Gordon River cruises was my impression.

[stepbystep]

It has been 10 years since the WCWR opened. At a cost of $35M.

Funnily enough, I never heard a good word spoken of it in the 6 years that I lived in Strahan.

Oh what a load of bollocks, I've spent maybe 8 days in Strahan and heard tourists rave about it. Sure I heard a bit of cynicism too but only from Tasmanian's.

[Moondog55]

Funny but I have NEVER heard of it.
This must be the one part of Tassie that was just never advertised or promoted. Please tell me more.
I need to find more outside stuff my disabled partner can enjoy and she simply cannot walk far

[wayno]

http://www.westcoastwildernessrailway.com.au/

The West Coast Wilderness Railway forms a gateway for visitors to explore Tasmania's unique rail heritage, discovering the inspiring story of the pioneers who built the railway more than 100 years ago

[Miyata610]

I have been a tourist and taken the ABT.

I like trains, it was fun.

Some of the scenery is wonderful.

It does rather highlight the enormous damage done by the mining industry, with the King River adjacent to the track being described as possibly the most polluted river in Australia. Very sad. I wouldn't take the trip again because I don't want to see the massive destruction done. Best to just ignore it.

http://soer.justice.tas.gov.au/2003/cas ... /index.php

[MickyB]

We went on the ABT in October or November 2002. At that stage it only traveled from Queenstown to Rinadeena and then returned back to Queenstown. My wife and I both had a great time and really enjoyed the scenery. When we went to Tassie last year we thought we would return to the ABT to complete the journey from Queenstown through to Strahan - that was until we saw the price. From memory it was a bit over $100 each (can't remember what we paid in 2002). It would be a very expensive day for a family. Puffing Billy in Victoria is only about $40-$50. I realize Puffing Billy is helped run by dedicated volunteers but it runs 2 or 3 times a day and is consistently full. I realize the ABT would have higher running costs with staff wages etc but if they reduced the price to make it more family friendly and perhaps advertised a bit more it could be one of Tassie's premier tourist attractions.