Fast train service a pipedream

The federal government is squandering another $500M of our money to pursue the pipedream of a fast-train service between Sydney and Newcastle.

The UK government has just announced that it is scaling back its high-speed-train project between London (15 million population) and Birmingham (four million population), because the cost/benefit equation doesn’t add up.

But our government thinks it can build one between Sydney (five million population) and Newcastle (300,000 population), through the most incredibly difficult terrain that one would be likely to encounter anywhere, and, on completion, generate the volume of paying custom that would be necessary to make it viable.

This is despite the fact that almost the whole length of the route would have to be bored through the sandstone plateau, carried in underwater tunnels or supported on viaducts – a herculean task that would be unmatched almost anywhere in the world.

All this to achieve a short time-saving for a tiny population.

The sum of money contemplated for this exercise could go a long way to making the present system more comfortable, convenient and safe than it is now, with immediate benefits for the large number of people who actually use and need the service, but would get no benefit from a new project serving such a small number of travellers.

So, how has this new priority been arrived at?

There are numerous reports on the topic that have been prepared in the past and that have come to the unanimous decision that the project is unworkable: many of these reports can be consulted on line and appear completely convincing, so what has changed?

It seems that nothing has changed, except a political calculation that this will make a good selling point for the next election, and, after all, it’s only taxpayers’ money with which politicians can afford to be generous, as an election approaches.

I am always reluctant to say “never”, but this is an ambition of such preposterous cost and so little return that I’d be willing to wager a large sum of money that nobody alive today will see it come to fruition.

Email, Nov 16
Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy