Re: VFT/VHST - third time lucky?

[Dion Williams <onamission@today.com.au>]

thebaron@nospam.ozemail.com.au wrote:
 
> Most people here seem to be pushing the high speed passenger option to
> the south and writing off the north. However if you've been on the roads
> at night between sydney and brisbane you'll see hundreds of semis crawling
> there way along. 

Not for long though. The Pacific Highway duplication project is already
well advanced, and when it's finished in 2006 it's going to leave rail
struggling to offer a competitive advantage. The current state of the
North Coast line is not going to provide that.

> On the south surely theres a mass of road frieght that should be rail
> hauled but this is where the high speed passanger really makes sense.
> Being able to travel city centre to city centre sydney/melbourne in 3
> or 3.5 hours would be brilliant for the business traveller.

Absolutely, but that's not in the government's interest. They didn't
spend all this time deregulating the airline industry for nothing. In
any case as you say it's freight that rail needs to pay its way, and
there's vast amounts we can do to upgrade current infrastructure that
would benefit both freight and passenger service competitiveness.

Dion