Fast train vision is no Utopia episode

The drilling of Brisbane Water as part of the high-speed rail business case has found high quality Sydney sandstone or “God’s rock” – which is good news for possible tunnelling.

Now, if people would just stop mentioning the television series Utopia when talking about the fast train, CEO of the High Speed Rail Authority Tim Parker would be a happy man.

Parker addressed the Central Coast Chapter of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) on November 14, updating everyone on the drilling that has taken place recently in Brisbane Water. 

He said the Authority was on track to deliver the business case for the high-speed rail this year.

It would include a proposed alignment, stations and fares.

During a question session, Parker was asked if talking about a fast train meant “we are in an episode of Utopia”, the hit comedy seen on the ABC in 2014.

The fictional show was about a team working inside a nation building department overseeing major infrastructure projects.

Parker admitted Utopia had stolen the words “nation building” but he insisted now was the right time for the vision.

The business case would talk about the value it would generate and what it would do for the regions including the Central Coast.

“A fast train that is twice as fast as a car – we might get people out of their cars,” he said.

The station for the Central Coast would go where the people are, he said, adding that public feedback would be sought before a final site was settled.

Earlier, the UDIA had said that Gosford was its preferred station location.

A drill rig was on Brisbane Water recently as part of geotechnical investigations to determine the “optimum route alignment” for a Federal Government-funded high-speed train.

The barge has since joined another one on the Hawkesbury River where it is operating for about two months.

All up, six boreholes, some to a depth of 140m, will have been drilled in locations within Brisbane Water and the Hawkesbury River.

About 27 boreholes in key areas between Newcastle and Sydney will help with planning for rail tunnel depths.

The geological complexities of traversing the escarpment into the Central Coast and on to Sydney and Newcastle, are being considered.

Merilyn Vale