Re: Gunnedah shire pushes Melbourne-Darwin rail line

["Barry Campbell" <campblbm@ozemail.com.au>]

Dion Williams wrote in message <38E493B4.2CFD@freemail.com.au>...
>
>Yes exactly. The only place the idea of 200km/h freight trains running
>3000km through outback Queensland and New South Wales to Darwin could
>gain any attention is in the minds of spruiking politicians who know the
>power of a promise. After fixing Adelaide-Melbourne, rebuilding the
>Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Brisbane routes in their worst spots and
>after that possibly getting Alice Springs-Darwin up and running, then
>other connecting routes could possibly be considered. Even these
>relatively small projects are endlessly booted back and forth by
>politicians; projects like Melbourne-Darwin are just pie in the sky.
>
Spot on. There is no demand for transporting freight at 200km/hr by train.
The cost would be so high that trucks running at half the speed would be
more economical.

OTOH, a 100km/hr inland railway between Brisbane and Melbourne could be
feasible - and relatively cheap. After all, only the Qld part needs to be
built from scratch.

Maybe this is what the whole deal is about. We can only hope.


Barry Campbell