THE president of Rail Trails Australia has thrown his support behind the proposed Boyne Burnett Inland Rail Trail, and has written to each councillor in both Gladstone and North Burnett regional councils.

Damian McCrohan congratulated both councils for their undertaking of the now-completed feasibility study and also commented on the groundswell of grassroots interest in the project.

"The amount of community involvement and the support of (the Department of) Transport and Main Roads in the rail trail concept (is) quite remarkable,” he wrote.

"Based on experience of the last few decades, several sections of the corridor in particular (have) features to be very successful rail trails.

"RTA ... urges (both councils) to acknowledge the widespread community support and proceed as quickly as possible to the next stage of development for those feasible stages.”

Mr McCrohan toured the trail in September 2018, viewing sections from Taragoola near Calliope, through the Kalpowar Tunnels and down to the Burnett River Bridges section between Mundubbera and Gayndah.

Writing in the Spring 2018 edition of Rail Trails Australia quarterly magazine, Rail Trail Connections, Mr McCrohan wrote of the "remarkable number of heritage-listed bridges” in the 37km Burnett River Bridges section.

He stated the department's support was evidenced by its moves to preserve bridges along the trail.

"The increasing support of the Queensland Government can be seen in the actions of the Transport and Main Roads Department who are actively seeking solutions to retain particularly critical bridges on some sections of the corridor which will make those sections of the rail trail feasible, and enjoyable,” Mr McCrohan wrote.