Re: VFT Sydney - Canberra

["Dave Proctor" <daproc@spambait.ozemail.com.au>]

<signal_spotter@my-deja.com> wrote in message
8jn9ja$kdc$1@nnrp1.deja.com">news:8jn9ja$kdc$1@nnrp1.deja.com...

> Yeah but the airport will service people travelling to more places than
> just Canberra/Melbourne.

And so will the railway. For the cost of a second airport you could get a
railway from the Sunshine Coast to Geelong. That would service so many towns
on this corridor and would reduce the traffic using Mascot (based on
European experience).

> To compete with air travel you would need to
> build a high speed rail to every place that planes go to.

Nope - just most places. You take most of your Sydney - Brisbane, Sydney -
Canberra and Sydney - Melbourne traffic out, as well as your Sydney - Port
Macquarie, Sydney Coffs Harbour, Sydney - Grafton, Sydney - Casino/Lismore,
Sydney Wagga Wagga, Sydney - Albury..... you get the picture. You take most
of this traffic out of Mascot and there would be heaps of capacity availabel
for toher destinations.

The TGV in France does not go everywhere that people wish to fly to, but on
the routes that it operates on it is the clear market leader. Basically,
anything around the three hour rail journey time (with a comparable 1 hour
air time) is competitive, and if you get the on-board product right, it will
be used.

> Now work out
> your costing based on that and you'll see which is cheaper.

Undoubtedly VHST from MCY to GEX via BNE, OOL, NTL, SYD, CBR, WGX, ABX and
MEL.

> Now don't
> get me wrong, I'm not a proponent of air travel, in fact I'd probably
> pick up work if the high speed rail went ahead, but it's a waste of
> money when there is not the passenger numbers to warrant it. The high
> speed rail is just a political white elephant.

But that is where you are wrong. Based on current rail patronage, there
isn't the traffic to warrant it. But considering that Sydney to Melbourne is
the third busiest air corridor in the world, a competitive product via rail
(and three hours city centre to city centre by rail *IS* competitive) would
gain most of the air market share. Why do you think both Ansett and QANTAS
wanted to be a part of it?

Dave