350km/h trains on the way for Australia? – Part Two

By Chris Faulks

To read Part One click here

A network for high speed trains could extend from Melbourne to Sydney via Canberra, then on to Brisbane via Newcastle and the Gold Coast.
Speakers at the recent Rail Technology Workshop held in Melbourne in August presented compelling facts about the success of high speed rail in other countries. High speed trains were reported as being between six and nine times as energy-efficient as aircraft in passenger-kilometre terms.
There are corresponding advantages in terms of CO2 emissions, with high speed rail outperforming air travel by a factor of between six and ten.
Information presented at the workshop in Melbourne included the success of high speed trains in attracting passengers from aircraft. Between Madrid and Seville in Spain, air travel used to have 67 per cent of the market. With the introduction of high speed trains on the 470 kilometre route, covering the distance in two and a quarter hours, trains are now dominant with an 84 per cent market share.
It was reported that for a high speed rail journey of three hours – for example Sydney-Melbourne or Sydney-Brisbane - the trains would capture 50 per cent of the market from air.
The growth of high speed rail (trains running at 250 km/h or more) has been very rapid. As at June 2009 there are 10,700 km of lines in operation, 13,500 kilometres under construction and more than 17,000 kilometres being planned. There are over 1,600 trains in use around the world, capable of 250 km/h or more. High speed rail continues to have an outstanding safety record. Since the advent of the first bullet trains in Japan in 1964, not one person has been killed or seriously injured in an accident on a dedicated high speed rail line.
Apart from the early adopters such as Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, countries currently planning high speed rail include Brazil, India, Morocco, Argentina and Saudi Arabia. Britain is planning to expand on its initial route, from London to the Channel Tunnel.
Two countries currently stand out. China is today running the world’s fastest trains, at 350 km/h, between Beijing and Tianjing, a distance of 120 kilometres. In China there are more than 9,000 kilometres of high speed line under construction with a further 2,900 kilometres in planning. The 1,300 kilometre link from Beijing to Shanghai will be completed in 2011. China has more than 800 high speed trains on order.
The other country of note is the USA, where President Barack Obama has allocated $US8 billion as a first step in the development of high speed train systems in America, with a possible further allocation over the next five years. Last November voters in California approved a ballot measure for the issuing of bonds to assist the financing of a high speed rail network in that state.
President Obama is personally committed to high speed rail.
“We will move to cleaner energy and a cleaner environment. We will reduce our need for foreign oil by millions of barrels a year and eliminate more than six billion pounds (three billion kilograms) of carbon dioxide emissions – equal to removing one million cars from our roads”, he said.
In Australia, with Sydney Airport heading towards saturation and high speed rail offering an energy-efficient and climate-friendly alternative for many flights, it is no wonder that fast trains are coming back into contention.

Chris Faulks is chief executive of Canberra Business Council (CBA).
CBA is a member organisation whose objective is to represent views and concerns of business in the ACT and Capital Region to government and key decision-makers, and to support private sector development in the ACT.