Good to see the UK government pushing ahead with their bullet train, with construction due to start in 2017. At least they’re willing to throw a few good regionalisation policies in the mix to counter the ridiculous house price bubble policies like the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme. A train like this would definitely be viable here if Stage 1 was Newcastle – Sydney – Lake Illawarra. An optional Stage 2 could be Lake Illawarra - Goulburn – Canberra if demand was there. But notice all the MSM articles bleating on about the $114 billion for the Brisbane - Melbourne plan. All a distraction from how critical the shorter (and cheaper) NSW coast stage would be in busting open the Sydney Basin pressure cooker. Not gonna hold my breath though; it’s just another big vision idea that’s a mortal threat to the Boomer Paradise, just like a second airport. Anything that gives Gen Y more choices about where they could live and pursue a career is off the table until around 2030 when all the Boomers have safely retired.
The former Victorian premier who made his political mark as a debt-busting crusader for small government and privatisation has urged the Napthine government to borrow whatever it takes to build a comprehensive underground rail system for Melbourne.
Former Liberal leader Jeff Kennett told Fairfax Media that an expanded metro network was Melbourne's top infrastructure priority. ''There's not a major world city that doesn't have one.''
He said future generations would appreciate that earlier governments had had the foresight to borrow while interest rates were low and build public transport. ''In 100 years people won't care about how much it [the rail system] cost.'' Rail lines around Melbourne. 11th August 2013. Photo by Jason South
'There's not a major city in the world that doesn't have one (an expanded metro system)': Kennett. Photo: Jason South
In comments likely to rile the Labor adversaries he flayed for fiscal profligacy, Mr Kennett said debt was good if used for infrastructure, and money was cheap. ''The public sees debt as a no-no. The public needs to be educated about debt.''
But his transport vision is also an uncomfortable reminder to the Napthine Coalition government of its 2010 election promises for new rail, including a commitment by former Liberal leader Ted Baillieu to build a train line to Doncaster.
In office the Coalition has deferred a $9 billion plan for a metro rail tunnel to link the western and south-east suburban rail networks, and has all but abandoned Doncaster rail. Instead it has opted for the controversial east-west road tunnel to link the Eastern Freeway with CityLink at a cost of up to $8 billion. On Sunday, Fairfax Media also revealed a VicRoads proposal for the widening of Punt Road to six lanes through Prahran and South Yarra.
Mr Kennett stopped short of arguing for underground rail ahead of the east-west road tunnel, instead urging the government to seize the ''opportunity'' of cheap public borrowings and do both projects. He said because of its access to inexpensive funds it made sense for the government to build the new rail system itself, rather than rely on the public private partnership (PPP) model that is now standard for large projects. A common criticism of PPPs is that private sector usually pays more in interest on borrowings, adding unnecessary cost to projects.
KEVIN Rudd has sought to re-energise his election campaign today by announcing a fresh Labor commitment to a high-speed rail line along Australia's east coast.
The move follows the completion of a $20 million feasibility study, promised by Labor at the last election, which found a high-speed rail link between Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne would cost $114 billion and take 45 years to complete.
Mr Rudd today unveiled the next step in Labor's preparations for the project, talking up the capacity of the project to drive jobs creation.
However, it was understood the Prime Minister was to stop short of making any definitive commitment to go ahead with what Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese called a “monumental endeavour”.
Mr Albanese tweeted earlier this morning: "Releasing High Speed Rail Advisory Group Report today shows a return of $2-10 for every $1 invested on Sydney-Melbourne."
The feasibility study, released in April, found protection of the rail route from development was the key priority to keep the project alive.
Labor has been on the hunt for big policy ideas, with the Prime Minister announcing earlier in the campaign he wanted to slash company tax in the Northern Territory by 10 per cent to turbo-charge development in Australia's north.
While Labor has offered equivocal support for fast rail to date, the Greens are strong supporters of the proposed development.
The rail link would decrease pressure on the nation's air network, taking up to 40 per cent of patronage from the airlines on major routes.
My partner catches them to work and after two years still won't keep quiet about how much she loves them compared to melbournes metro service.
On a trip to work last week there was an announcement on the train notifying a passenger that their car headlights were left turned on and if they wanted to leave the keys with the staff, they would turn off the lights when the trained returned from melbourne. Good luck getting that level of customer service with the metro system.
she reckons she has only missed out on getting a seat twice in two years.
If this is about workforce mobility the awnser is really staring the government in the face. REMOVE BLOODY STAMP DUTY !!!! its a damn discrace that people have to fork out tens of thousands of dollars if they want to move to another city for work. It's a god damn economic hinderance.
A re-elected Labor government would secure 1,750km of rail corridor for a high-speed rail network from Brisbane to Melbourne, via Sydney and Canberra, and has pledged an initial $52 million for the planning stage of the project.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the government would create a High Speed Rail Authority to oversee the project, which would see Sydney and Melbourne connected by 2035.
Treasurer Chris Bowen said the project would create 10,000 jobs in the construction phase.
The government would legislate to secure all land needed for the high speed rail corridor.
Labor said it had adopted all the recommendations put in the final report by the High Speed Rail Advisory Group, whose members included former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer, Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott and Australasian Railway Association chief executive Bryan Nye.
Travel time between Sydney and Melbourne would be two hours and 45 minutes at a speed of 350 kilometres per hour.
A key plank of the report was the 2035 completion date for the first stage between Sydney and Melbourne, via Canberra, the Southern Highlands, Wagga Wagga, Albury Wodonga and Shepparton.
The High Speed Rail Authority would use the initial $52 million to finalise track alignment and station locations in consultation with the relevant State governments, develop a business case with Infrastructure Australia and identify options for private sector partners. The body would be created within six months of the September election.
Preliminary works in Sydney are earmarked for 2019, while main construction would start in 2022.
The project will be funded from the Nation Building 2 Program and is already included in the budget.
The second stage of the east coast network would connect Sydney to Brisbane via the Central Coast and Newcastle.
you have to love Kevins enthusiasm sometimes. If he gets in we will probably end up with some serious world class infrastructure eventually. We will almost certainly be broke as hell as a nation - but he will have left his mark. At least we know he isn't in it for the super-sized pension like that scrubber from Brighton.
APF - a place where serious people don't take themselves too seriously. There's nothing else like it.
Hah, 45 years to complete, just so a minority of people can go zipping up and down the coast.
Where's my underground city trains!
What an idiot. Without the NBN Rudd would be toast.
stinkbug omosessuale Frank Castle is a liar and a criminal. He will often deliberately take people out of context and use straw man arguments. Frank finally and unintentionally gives it up and admits he got where he is, primarily via dumb luck! See here Property will be 50-70% off by 2016.
What an idiot. Without the NBN Rudd would be toast.
bite your tongue - both the NBN and fast trains are shabadabadelicious. Rudd is a big picture kind of guy - he will just run out of money well before his vision comes to fruition
Both of these things point to decentralization and may give clues as to where policy makers are heading. You should see the mega million dollar 5km stretch of freeway on the way to my sisters place. 205 million is a lot of money to throw at an outer bumfuck piece of road.. im sure there's a good reason for it even if we can't see it yet.
it's pretty damn ironic that the NBN and fastish Trains already exist in areas where you can buy a fully serviced block of land for 100K
APF - a place where serious people don't take themselves too seriously. There's nothing else like it.
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