State Election 2018: Macedon Liberal candidate Amanda Millar announces $5 million Daylesford to Hanging Rock Rail Trail

STATE Liberals have pledged $5 million to start works on a Daylesford to Hanging Rock Rail bike path if they win the upcoming state election.

THE long-awaited Daylesford to Hanging Rock Rail Trail will get off the ground if the Coalition wins the upcoming state election.

Liberal candidate for Macedon Amanda Millar has announced a $5 million commitment to stage one of the project, should her party win government.

SUNBURY CYCLIST CALLS FOR BIKE PATHS TO STRETCH TO CITY

SEVEN OF MELBOURNE’S BEST SCENIC BIKE PATHS

ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE BEST WALKS IN MELBOURNE

The project would transform 44km of former railway from the Daylesford to Carlsruhe route, which closed in 1978, and revived as a shared path.

Ms Millar said the project would be a major injection for tourism in the region.

“Hepburn Shire and Macedon Ranges shire councils have long identified the need for an economic driver in the Hepburn Shire, with businesses in the region needing a boost,” she said.

“The rail trail travels through some of Victoria’s most beautiful places, enabling cyclists to experience and enjoy these iconic towns in a whole new way.

“This project provides the opportunity for employment and tourist growth in the Macedon Ranges and Hepburn Shire, and will help ensure Daylesford is a destination for leisurely bike riders and families across Australia and from overseas.”

Economic analysis around the proposed trail has estimated 62,500 new visitors to the region, 51 new jobs and $4.1 million in economic benefits.

No official rail trails have been built in the Macedon Ranges, but the trails are magnets for tourists elsewhere in the state and country.

There is a push for a major mountain biking hub at Mt Macedon with the committee hoping to establish one similar to the recently built $1.99 million La Larr Ba Gauwa Park outside of Harcourt.