Northern Rivers Rail Ltd

20/06/2026

The **SOLAR Train Lantern** will be back in the Lismore Lantern Parade again tonight - Saturday, June 20th. BIG thanks to the yearly crew who make this happen.
Come along and cheer our SOLAR Train Lantern, to support the future of bringing train services back to our region as regular public transport!
NRRL in collaboration with Northern Regional Railway Company (NRRC) is getting closer to gaining a commercial licence in-principle from TfNSW to more effectively apply for grants and investment dollars, our end game is to ultimately restore the tracks to run the proposed as public transport connecting NR towns Lismore to Yelgun. Jenny Aitchison MP Lismore Lantern Parade

20/06/2026

**More signatures added to NRRL's Individual Survey - our roving NRRL secretary , snapped local artist, Narmada Smith, last night at Lismore Regional Art Gallery, Narmada has an exhibition of her artworks currently there, she was delighted to add her signature to the survey and called herself 'the world's biggest fan' of trains coming back to the Northern Rivers when she signed our NRRL Survey! All our individual survey sheets are presented to TfNSW c/o UGL in a process to achieve a license to run commercial trains to bring them back as regular daily public transport>>> Janelle Saffin - Member for Lismore Jenny Aitchison MP Lismore City Council Chris Minns Tamara Smith, MP

18/06/2026

**Northern Rivers Community Transport Survey 2026**
**Shared Online survey conducted between 9-14 June 2026**
After today's Byron Shire Council Meeting; pictured here is Lydia Kindred -Secretary of Northern Rivers Rail Ltd ( who presented an NRRL response to a BSC agenda item with regards to the bike path at public access- more about that to come )and ex BSC Councilor Cate Coorey ( in attendance) Cate is seen holding on to a very recent Snap Transport Survey shared through the Byron Residents Group and beyond. Outline of the survey:
Northern Rivers Community Transport Survey 2026
Shared Online survey conducted between 9-14 June 2026
A snapshot of community priorities for future transport.
Key messages from 155 responses.
The snap survey was distributed over 6 days across the community.
*84% support a shared use of the railway corridor for public transport
*84% support investigating passenger rail
*94% currently use a private vehicle as their main means of transport
*94% rated improved public transport as very important
The survey provides a concise snapshot of community views on future transport priorities across the Northern Rivers during the response time to the Draft North Coast Strategic Regional Integrated Transport Plan (SRITP).
Significant issues among respondents:
• traffic congestion
• limited transport choices
• poor connections between neighbouring towns
What most respondents wanted:
• high preference for future transport opportunities to go in the existing rail corridor • broader regional connectivity across Northern Rivers
• reduced reliance on roads and private vehicles
The Survey was not tabled at today's meeting due to time constraints. The Survey was submitted to the Draft North Coast Strategic Regional Integrated Transport Plan (SRITP) this week and has been acknowledged.
Good to note this survey was not conducted by NRRL however the percentage of those who support an investigation into trains @ 84% certainly aligns with NRRL's ongoing appraisal from our Face to Face surveys that come in at 85% of people signing our Individual Surveys supporting the return of trains.
One of several big questions is - where are Byron Shire Council's community survey figures to support their determination to put a bike path on-formation ?? More to come....

13/06/2026

The Byron Solar Train is featured on this Japanese program from 9 minutes and 20 seconds!

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13/06/2026

Let's get GO and extend NRRL's proposed similar service to connect towns between Yelgun and Lismore.

We were on Japanese TV!

Joined by this fabulous film crew at the end of last year, the Solar Train returned to Japanese TV screens earlier this year with a segment focusing on the world-first development of the train and continued use of sustainable technology for a train 100% powered by the sun.

Check it out on YouTube via the link below. The segment on Byron Bay begins at the 19 minutes and 20 seconds mark.

https://youtu.be/vdlTaXchGag