After almost a decade, Cooma Monaro Railway is excited to announce that tourist trains will be returning to the rails of the Monaro. Last week, the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) notified us that our application to be accredited as a Rail Infrastructure Manager (RIM) and a Rolling Stock Operator (RSO) has been approved.
This is a huge milestone for CMR and signals the commencement of an exciting chapter for heritage railway in the Monaro.
While our first priority is being able to move our rolling stock within the yard at Cooma Railway Station, the issuing of our accreditation allows us to commence repair work on the track between Cooma and Snowy Junction (Stage 1 of tourist train operations) and commence preparations for our CPH Rail Motors to return to tourist services on this section.
This also means that the railway corridor between our current southern boundary near the Monaro Highway overpass south of Cooma Station, and our northern boundary at Chakola has now been reactivated and track vehicles will now be operating on this section of track. Please be vigilant at levels crossings and stay outside of the railway corridor.
There are so many people that have helped us get to this point, but a special shout out to our Safety Manager, Stuart Thyer, who has been instrumental in the development our new Safety Management System and has liaised with ONRSR throughout this process.
There is still a lot of work to be done with repairs to track and railway infrastructure as well as the activation of our Safety Management System and training for our volunteers, but we are all super excited by this announcement and we can’t wait to welcome you all aboard our trains in the not-too-distant future.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of the Cooma Monaro Railway, and we look forward to some very exciting years ahead!
Would you like to help us on our journey to bring tourist trains back to the Monaro?
Join our amazing group of volunteers. We have diverse range of volunteering opportunities from working on our track, restoring and maintaining our rolling stock, grounds and facilities maintenance, gardens and landscaping, museum, events and administration.
For information about joining our team:
https://www.cmrailway.org.au/get-involved/
If you would like to contribute to our projects and support the great work of our volunteers, tax deductable donations can be made through our online store. For more details: