As someone with a licence and a car it can be easy to overlook the lack of access to train transport north of Armidale.
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The reasons someone might want regular rail access between the Queensland border and Newcastle or the NSW capital might not be so obvious to people in my shoes.
However, the challenge comes when I think of the circumstances in which you might need transport for medical care or possibly to the city for work or training in a one-vehicle household.
I've been informed there are some very valuable community transport volunteers who assist people getting to appointments (or to Armidale for train access) along with a bus link to the north.
While that fundamentally provides the access people need, it's still an extra step an added stress added to the 'set and forget' mentality of being able to step on the train and knowing you're on track to your destination.
There appears to be a bit of perception that the Glen Innes Severn council voting down support for Trains North's push to reinstate the rail line is in favour of a rail trail and ultimately spelling doom for the future of the rail corridor.
But there was a key caveat in the discussions that the rail trail would not come at the exception of renewing the rail line.
I grew up on the Far South Coast of NSW near the Victorian border, which shares many of the same distinctly regional issues which could be construed as neglect by a Sydney-centric government.
There's also the concern of cost. Whether you believe estimates of $500million to $1billion or more to see the line restored to a meaningful standard or not.
That cost is already way outside any regional council's remit.
So ultimately it doesn't matter what councils do or do not vote in support of, without the state or federal government stepping up, a rail restoration is not possible.