Engineering, Environment and Sustainability, Passenger Rail

High Speed Rail thrust under election microscope

Alstom-built SNCF TGV and Deutsche Bahn-built Intercity-Express (ICE) at Paris Gare de l'Est. Photo: Oliver Probert

The viability of a high speed train line on Australia’s east coast is yet again part of the national debate, after a report surfaced this week that the Coalition is planning on launching a value-capture model to fund such a project.

Despite the fact their had been no statement formally announcing plans at time of writing (Monday afternoon, April 11), an exclusive report published in The Australian this week has already led to responses from the Labor Party and the Greens.

The Australian reported on Monday morning that the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is preparing to announce plans for a high speed rail line between Brisbane and Melbourne.

The line would help connect regional cities, as part of a cities building program.

Helping to fund the massive project – again, according to the report – will be a bold value-capture strategy, which will seek to soak up the benefit of the high speed line by taking revenue from the landowners who gain from the line itself.

Anthony Albanese, who has been an advocate of an east coast high speed rail line for at least three years, says any suggestion the line can be built without any public money is total nonsense.

“Malcolm Turnbull is out there today on the front page of The Australian newspaper purporting to suggest that now he’s in favour of High Speed Rail and that it can be done for free. That is a fantasy,” Albanese told the media on Monday afternoon.

“You can involve the private sector and we should involve the private sector in value capture along the route because of the benefit that will be there for real estate in towns like Canberra and Newcastle, Albury-Wodonga, Shepparton.

“But there will need to be a government contribution.

“And most importantly you don’t build such a nation building project by having a headline in a newspaper.”

Albanese, who has lobbied for a Bill in parliament for some time which would create an Authority in charge of the project, says his Bill should be accepted if the Turnbull Government is serious about the line.

“He comes up with ideas that are old, that have been progressed, that indeed his government and Tony Abbott’s government have wound back and stopped the advance of, and then pretends that somehow this is some new whiz-bang initiative.

“It’s not.”

The Greens welcomed The Australian‘s report, and urged the prime minister to commit to action on “this transformative project”.

“High speed rail’s time has come, but Australia needs courage and vision to get it moving,” Australian Greens Senator Janet Rice said.

“The Greens welcome a robust discussion about smart ways to capture the benefit that land owners achieve from this type of transport infrastructure development, including through the use of land taxes.

“Former PM Abbott had little interest in clean 21st Century transport and instead pushed the barrow of more polluting toll roads. We need to see some real commitment by Mr Turnbull, not just another pre-election grab at a headline.”

4 Comments

  1. Except the rail line will be going through farm land and not towns. This idea that people will migrate to regional towns because of a hsr is completely pathetic. We need a new rail line for freight. Not passengers.

  2. The Inland Rail Is the future of rail – if this is not built I fear that Rail has no future!

    The Prime Minister, in this election year must be asked why the government is seemingly allowing itself to be dictated to by the Road Transport lobby with all its vested interests.
    Does the federal government (Liberal party and Nationals) accept funding from this powerful lobby to further its re-election chances?

  3. Why not build a High Speed Rail and a medium speed freight line on the same alignment but running on separate tracks? Get more value for money and decrease ongoing maintenance costs. The Sydney to Melbourne rail corridor needs to be revitalised. It could form the ‘backbone’ of a re-energised Australian rail system.

  4. High Speed Rail necessitates much flatter curves and gradients than standard freight rail traffic which normally travels up to a third or half the speed of High Speed Rail. To achieve the required track geometry for High Speed Rail, generally results in more/longer tunnelling, more/longer/higher viaducts and bridges, more/longer/deeper cuttings and more/longer/higher embankments. The more undulating the topography of the terrain to be traversed, the more pronounced the difference i.e. suitable geometry for High Speed Rail will be much more costly across the same terrain compared to what would be acceptable for standard freight rail.