A Call for High-Speed Rail in Australia
An Australian has highlighted a pressing issue with traveling between major cities, advocating for an extensive high-speed rail network that could rival air travel. Motoring writer Paul Maric, co-founder of CarExpert, emphasized that Australia is in ‘desperate need’ of fast trains that can transport people from Sydney to Melbourne in a fraction of the time it currently takes.
Maric made this realization while traveling at 350km/h on a train from Changsha to Beijing in China. The journey took five hours, compared to “around 3-4 hours on the plane with travel in-between,” he told Yahoo News. Sitting in a luxurious recliner chair in his business class cabin, Maric described the train as “super comfortable.” Although the journey was slightly longer, he noted that “there’s less stress, and it’s a much easier process than flying.”
He initially intended to fly but found train travel “way more affordable.” “Even though the train is traveling at up to around 350km/h, you barely feel a thing. It’s impressive how smooth it is,” he said.
The Need for High-Speed Trains Between Sydney and Melbourne
The automotive expert argued that Australia is “backwards” due to its lack of travel options, with travelers relying solely on airlines for domestic travel. “I don’t understand why we can’t have high-speed rail in Australia. We desperately, desperately need this in Australia,” he said.
A plan is underway for a Sydney to Newcastle high-speed rail line, which could cut travel times between the two cities to just one hour. Construction of the 194-kilometre line is set to begin in 2028. While he’s “glad something is happening,” Maric said it’s a “bizarre route to start with.”
Instead, he believes that travelers between Sydney and Melbourne could highly benefit from train travel. “The route between Sydney and Melbourne, for example, services something like eight million passengers a year. An express high-speed train between Melbourne and Sydney could be knocked over in around three hours,” he explained.
“We need to break the monopoly airlines have over this travel route as it becomes far less competitive with less airlines. Especially during peak periods where it becomes incredibly expensive to travel between these two cities.”
High-Speed Rail from Sydney to Newcastle Underway
A high-speed rail network has been proposed for Australia, with the government planning to connect Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and regional communities across the east coast by 2060. The first line, from Sydney to Newcastle, is now in the Development Phase, which prepares the project for construction.
According to the High Speed Rail Authority, the Newcastle, Central Coast and Sydney corridor is the most densely populated part of Australia, with 624 people per square kilometre. As it’s the busiest regional corridor, Newcastle–Sydney is the best place to start.
Along the line, high-speed rail stations are proposed for central Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Central Coast, central Sydney, Parramatta and Western Sydney International Airport. Gosford has also been confirmed as the Central Coast location for a future underground high-speed rail station.
