People from both sides of politics say Australia needs a high-speed rail system to rival Japan’s Shinkansen fast trains. Picture: iStock
WHILE commuters in Europe and Asia zip across countries at lightning speed, momentum for Australia’s own fast train has meandered for years.
But there is a renewed push for Australia to act now on a high-speed rail system that would move people from Melbourne to Brisbane faster than air travel — and the ducks may be finally falling into line.
Labor spokesman for infrastructure and transport and fast train advocate Anthony Albanese will reintroduce a private member’s bill to parliament tomorrow calling for a national authority to oversee plans towards making high-speed rail a reality.
It comes as former trade minister Andrew Robb said international investors were ready to throw money at the project — which is priced between $68 billion and $114 billion — because it is seen as a safe, long-term investment right now.
High-speed rail operates in countries such as Japan, China, Russia, France, Poland and Uzbekistan, while in the US, construction is underway on the California High-Speed Rail project.
But it seems Australia may be inching closer towards no longer being the only continent — with the exception of Antarctica — without fast trains of our own.
The proposed route, taking in the major cities of Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane.Source:Supplied
WHAT’S ON THE TABLE FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL?
There is a proposal to build a high-speed rail system that would connect Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne across a dedicated 1748km route.
Under the proposal, trains would move faster than 250km/h and people could travel from Sydney to Melbourne in two hours and 44 minutes, and Sydney to Brisbane in two hours and 37 minutes. This would be faster than flying, taking into account time spent at airports.
There would be express services and all-stops services for major cities plus 12 regional stations: the Gold Coast, Casino, Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Taree, Newcastle, the Central Coast, the Southern Highlands, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga and Shepparton.
A report commissioned by the Gillard government in 2013 put the cost at $114 billion, however an independent report by Beyond Zero Emissions, released in 2014, found a similar route could be built for $84 billion, and repaid in a 40-year time frame.
A subsequent report by the Australasian Railway Association scaled the estimated cost even further back to $68 billion.
According to Labor, construction could start in 2027, with the first stage — a Sydney to Melbourne line — completed by 2040. The whole network would be passenger-ready by 2065.
WHAT HAS GOVERNMENT DONE ABOUT IT?
Australia has been slow to move on high-speed rail, with the idea being embraced and rejected, back and forth, over three decades.
Labor got the ball rolling again in 2013 with a $20 million study on high-speed rail that recommended an east coast corridor be identified and preserved.
Momentum stalled again when the High Speed Rail Advisory Group was axed by the Abbott government as part of budget cuts.
But this month, high-speed rail was identified as a priority in the Turnbull government’s Infrastructure Australia Plan, which again recommended preserving a corridor between Melbourne and Brisbane for future development.
The report also noted that by 2075, the population of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane would surpass 30 million people, exceeding what existing and planned rail, road and aviation services were able to deliver.
CRH380 harmony bullet trains at high-speed train maintenance base in Wuhan, China.Source:Supplied
WHY DO PEOPLE THINK WE NEED FAST TRAINS?
Supporters of high-speed rail in Australia say it has more benefits than simply moving people quicker, easier and with fewer emissions than cars or air travel.
Mr Albanese said it would also unlock regional areas, reduce pressure on capital cities, enhance economic and tourism opportunities, and ultimately drive Australia headfirst, at last, into the 21st century.
“I also think people find the experience of travelling on a direct route on high-speed rail, where they can undertake work, walk around and have a good travelling experience, as preferable to other modes of transport,” he told news.com.au.
“That’s been found everywhere in the world, and as great travellers, there are so many Australians who have experienced the Shinkansen (bullet train) in Japan or the high-speed rail from Paris to London or other routes and every single one, I think, has thought to themselves, ‘why don’t we have this in Australia?’”
Mr Albanese said Labor had a comprehensive plan for the rail link, down to the design of the rail stations.
“There’s been an extraordinary amount of work done and it is a pity that the Liberal government has stopped any advance on the project and, indeed, cut funding for the advisory authority,” he said.
Mr Albanese will introduce a private member’s bill to parliament tomorrow, for the second time, to resuscitate the authority so it can resume planning for the rail link.
Critics to high-speed rail in Australia have questioned the need for it, given the east coast isn’t as densely populated as areas of Asia and Europe where these trains operate.
But Beyond Zero Emissions chief executive Stephen Bygrave said demand for high-speed rail clearly existed, when the east coast had two of the busiest air routes in the world — Sydney-Melbourne is the world’s fifth busiest route, and Sydney-Brisbane is the 13th busiest.
“We have the traffic volumes to fill these trains and it’s cost effective. And it’s a zero emissions transport solution that Australia needs to bring down its transport emissions,” Dr Bygrave told news.com.au.
The Tokaido Shinkansen passing by Japan’s Mt Fuji.Source:Supplied
“The work we’ve done shows that 60 per cent of the Australian population will be within fifty kilometres of the high-speed rail system, both in rural and urban areas. And 80 per cent of the (national) population is along the eastern coast of Australia, so a linear design, which is what we have, picks up those populations.
“We’re not like Europe where we have satellite towns spread over a large land mass; the population is along a line, which corresponds to where the high-speed rail would go. It’s actually perfect.”
Dr Bygrave believed high-speed rail was also an increasingly commercial proposition.
“With the downturn in the mining sector, there are jobs available and beckoning for this kind of project,” he said.
“Whenever we talk about this to the financial sector, they say this is exactly the kind of project they want to invest in because there’s good returns and there’s the capacity in the Australian economy to build this kind of project.”
INVESTORS ARE READY NOW
Andrew Robb, who resigned from politics this month, said companies from three countries had approached him on numerous occasions with offers to finance and build the line, believing it represented a safe, long-term investment in otherwise uncertain financial times.
“There’s not many developed countries in the world that haven’t got the advantage of this and we have to do it,” he said in a speech at Canberra Airport, obtained by Fairfax Media.
“The thing is, we should do it now whilst the world is awash with cheap money — in six or seven years it may not be — but it is at the moment.
“It’s awash with nervous investors but they’re keen to put their money into long term sustainable projects in safe havens and Australia is seen as a safe haven.”
Mr Robb said Australia should take advantage of very low interest rates and the “huge” interest.
“I can give you (names of) companies from three nations who been seeing me again and again,” he said.
“They’ll do the whole lot. They’ll finance the whole lot.”
The operators of Japan’s Shinkansen trains (pictured), as well as Mitsubishi and a Chinese consortium, have previously flagged interest in rail prospects in Victoria and NSW.Source:Supplied
While Mr Albanese said it was a shame Mr Robb’s support for high-speed rail came after his exit from politics, he agreed there was strong international interest in any future Australian project.
“There’s no doubt there’s real opportunity to work with people with experience in high-speed rail,” he said.
“I have met with Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish companies who are engaged with this process and would want to participate in an Australian high-speed rail network.
“Japan has had a high-speed rail office in Sydney for decades — Japan is interested in particular.”
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Dr Bygrave from Beyond Zero Emissions said re-establishing a high-speed rail advisory group was key, as it would untangle discussion and planning from political party rooms.
He said the next steps were to preserve the chosen rail corridor by securing the support of relevant state and territory governments, determine the funding model — public, private or both — and then integrating the rail link into Australia’s existing transport networks.
He said until now, plans have been derailed by a lack of clear bipartisan support and a reluctance by some previous governments to commit to such long-term planning.
“That’s why the timing is right now, with Andrew Robb making his statements, Anthony Albanese continuing to be an advocate, and I think the ducks are aligned now,” he said.
“Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is also an advocate for rail and understands investment in public transport and things like high-speed rail is critical to Australia’s economic prosperity and that it’s part of our innovation future.”
Dr Bygrave described high-speed rail as Australia’s next “nation-building project”, comparable to the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
“The benefits will accrue and last over many generations and election cycles,” he said.
“We’re 50 years behind countries in Europe and Japan, and we can’t imagine a future in Australia without high-speed rail — I mean, we’re still driving up and down the Hume Highway.”
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