Greens Senator and transport spokesperson Scott Ludlam and NSW lead
Federal Senate candidate Lee Rhiannon today announced the Greens
vision for a High Speed Train for Australia’s East Coast under the
clock at the Central Station Country Platforms (background). They were
joined by Tony Hickey, Greens candidate for Sydney, and Sam Byrne,
Greens candidate for Grayndler.
Senator Scott Ludlum said, “Now is the time to link the nation’s major
east coast population centres with High Speed Rail. A passenger train
linking Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane should be a priority
for a low carbon public transport system. A High Speed Rail link would
provide fast, reliable and sustainable transport for the 75% of our
population who live on the east coast. Newcastle and Canberra could be
connected to the network.
“This is a project that requires State and Federal governments to
co-operate to deliver 21st century transport solutions for Australia.”
Ms Rhiannon said, “This is a major nation-building project. The Greens
are proposing a $10 million study over 12 months to undertake
environmental studies, consult with communities and determine the best
technology and the best route. It’s essential that Australia catch up
with Japan, Europe, the UK, China, South Korea and Taiwan, all of
which have embraced High Speed Rail networks over the past four
decades.
“High Speed Rail, with trains travelling up to 500kms per hour, would
be an exciting opportunity for Sydneysiders. One clear benefit would
be preventing the horror accidents that now take place on our east
coast highways.
“High Speed Rail would get cars off the roads, reduce air travel and
help insulate the public from predicted rises in oil costs. A
construction project of this size would also bring big economic
benefits to the Illawarra and Hunter regions.”
Sam Byrne, candidate for the Inner West seat of Grayndler said, "The
Sydney-Melbourne flight path is the fourth busiest in the world. The
Member for Grayndler Anthony Albanese is well aware of the enormous
congestion and air and noise pollution generated by Sydney Airport in
his seat. As Minister for Infrastructure, his Government should be
supporting this kind of nation-building project and looking at
alternatives to air travel for moving large numbers of people between
our population centres,” Mr Byrne said.
Tony Hickey, Greens candidate for Sydney said, “Sydney people are
thirsty for better public transport options. An integrated
metropolitan transport system should connect with inter-city trains,
unblocking the congestion of routes to the airport and giving people
safe, fast and clean ways to move between cities.”
Contact: Lee Rhiannon 0427 861 568
Fernando de Freitas for Scott Ludlam 0417 174 302, Sam Byrne,
Grayndler – 0408 231 509, Tony Hickey, Sydney – 0406 711 352
High Speed Rail link – Background to the Greens’ proposal
Now is the time to link the nation’s major east coast population
centres with High Speed Rail (HSR). There is an increasing urgency for
an HSR linking the major eastern cities as the benefits address
several of the problems posed by the current predominance of air and
motor travel. The Greens propose a concept study be done over 12
months that will undertake environmental studies, consult with
communities and determine the best technology and the best route for
an HSR.
Benefits of High Speed Rail
1. Provides accessible fast, reliable, ecologically sustainable
transport for the 75% of Australia’s population that live on or near
the east coast
Travel between Melbourne or Brisbane and Sydney would take about four
hours (with comfortable seats, phone and internet access).
2. Helps to reduce transport emissions and dependence on oil
HSR can and should be electric. This means much lower greenhouse gas
emissions and unlike air travel, the cost of train travel would be
immune from inevitable and inexorable increases in oil prices. It also
means that as renewable electricity displaces coal and gas derived
electricity, greenhouse gas emissions from transport can be further
drastically reduced. To hasten this process the Greens support
increasing the Renewable Energy Target by an amount equivalent to the
HSR’s electricity demand.
3. Removes congestion and improves transport safety
The Melbourne-Sydney flight route is the fourth busiest in the world
and business as usual projections anticipate high growth until at
least 2020. The Pacific Highway between Brisbane and Sydney and the
Hume and Princes Highways between Melbourne and Sydney have long
standing reputations for being hazardous and accident prone, with
heavy traffic congestion, which increases the risk of accidents.
4. Basis for future regional development
By reducing transport times relative to road-based transport, an HSR
could open up new development opportunities along the route.
5. Opportunities for freight
In most instances traditional slower trains are likely to be the most
cost-effective option for rail freight, however, there may be
opportunities to use High Speed Rail for some urgent high value
freight, such as mail.
6. Job creation
A High Speed Rail network would create a significant number of jobs
during the construction phase as well as a smaller number of ongoing
positions. During its peak construction period, the Adelaide to Darwin
railway employed 1500 people. A larger number of people would likely
be required for the construction of a HSR because there would be two
tracks built to a much higher engineering standard.
International examples
HSR networks have been in operation for 35 years with almost 1,750
high speed trains operating at speeds of more than 250km/h around the
world. The first high speed rail (the ‘bullet train’) was built in
Japan in 1964. It is still the busiest HSR route in the world,
carrying more than 360,000 passengers over 515km every weekday. More
than 4,000 million passengers have already travelled on bullet trains
with no passenger injuries due to accident. High speed rail is now
widespread throughout Europe, China, South Korea and Taiwan.
How much will a High Speed Rail network cost?
The cost of an east coast HSR network is high but it is comparable to
the $43 billion investment that the Government is intending to make in
the National Broadband Network, with approximate costs of $20 million
per kilometre of track work and additional costs for trains.
In 2001, the Department of Transport and Regional Services
commissioned studies for a potential Melbourne-
Canberra-Sydney-Brisbane high speed rail link. This study estimated
the following costs associated with this project (for trains that can
operate between 250 -500km/hr). We have adjusted the findings from
this study for an approximate current costing:
• For track work – a range of around $40 billion (inflated to 2008
figures) for a full double track the entire length. Savings could be
made by partial use of single track – with variations in the range of
-10% to +30%.The report noted that these estimates are in the lower
half of international costs on a per kilometre basis.
• For rolling stock – estimate cost of a 400 seat train set around $50
to $120 million (2008 figures). These costs are for passenger stock,
and not freight cars, which we could expect to be lower in costs.
• Operating costs assessed on average of about 7-9 cents (2008
figures) per passenger per kilometre.
What is the potential route for a very fast train?
For the high speed rail link to be viable there must be an effective
balance between linking the major population centres of the east coast
and setting routes and timetables that minimise point-to-point travel
times.
The most recent government study in 2001 on a very fast train network
identified potential corridors along either an ‘inland’ route or a
‘coastal’ route, broadly consistent with existing road corridors. On
balance, the 2001 report favoured an ‘inland’ route between Melbourne
and Sydney and a ‘coastal route’ between Sydney and Brisbane.
The Greens believe a concept study should address:
• current and future service demand, preservation of corridors and
location and number of stations,
• environmental, social and economic costs and benefits of the range
of route and train technology configurations. The existing major
highway routes should be examined,
• comparisons to alternative options, including new or expanded
airports and road networks,
• options for the financing, governance and public ownership of the
rail network,
• options for providing a carbon neutral energy source to meet the
trains’ electricity requirements ,
• previous studies, including the last completed in 2001, nearly a decade ago.