All aboard: fast rail gains momentum after false starts
Australia has its best chance of finally getting high-speed rail, as the federal government is spending almost $700 million to get the project ready for use in a few years.
A two-year development phase began Tuesday to enable work on the long-awaited transportation project to begin.
The development phase will be responsible for the approval process of the route, awarding of contracts and finalizing the design.
It is estimated that the high-speed rail line will mean a journey time of just one hour between Sydney and Newcastle, and 30 minutes from Sydney to the Central Coast.
The federal government will pour an extra $229 million into the plan, bringing the Commonwealth’s spending to almost $660 million.
The total cost of the project, including the airport expansion, is estimated at more than $90 billion; making it one of Australia’s most expensive infrastructure projects.
Transport Minister Catherine King said that if the development phase is successful, a decision on the project will be made by 2028 and construction will begin the following year.
“This is to prepare it for a final investment decision. If you think about the way the private sector works, they actually do a huge amount of work before they’re ready,” he told reporters in Newcastle.
“We want to make this happen. We really want to see it eventually come to Australia. We can’t be the only populated country in the world without high-speed rail.”
The business case projects a $250 billion boost to the economy over the next 50 years; Approximately 99,000 jobs will be created in the first phase.
Stations will be located in Sydney, Central Coast, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle.
Other stages include extending the high-speed rail line to Parramatta in Sydney’s west before heading to the city’s second airport.
Plans are being developed for potential expansion to Melbourne and Brisbane.
City Futures Research Center director Christopher Pettit said Australia had the best chance of keeping the project afloat since high-speed rail was first mooted in the 1980s.
“This is more of an imperative as a solution to the housing crisis that Melbourne and Sydney are poised to explode,” he said.
“It offers growth corridors that will help alleviate this.”
Professor Pettit said the smaller stage between Sydney and Newcastle was the start of an exciting project that would help activate regional areas while creating the “backbone” of Australia.
“For many Australians, there is the appeal of high-speed rail with comfortable carriages that you can work in… it can be more efficient and faster than driving,” he said.
High-speed rail has long been touted as a transport option in Australia, but for decades successive governments have failed to get the thought bubble out of the station.
Various proposals have been made for a high-speed route connecting Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Ravi Ravitharan, director of the Monash Institute of Rail Technology, said he was confident the project would come to fruition thanks to significant investment and planning.
“You have to start somewhere, and high-speed rail is an imperative for us as a country to move forward to connect major cities and improve access to education and health,” he said.
Professor Ravitharan said the project was key to meeting Australia’s climate targets as rail produced significantly lower levels of emissions than aircraft.
Australian Railways Association chief executive Caroline Wilkie said it would transform Australia’s east coast.
“High-speed rail has been a dream for decades, but today we are one step closer to making it a reality,” Ms Wilkie said.
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