Re: Implications of high speed trains in Victoria

["Peter Berrett" <pberrett@optushome.com.au>]

> Even with only 100km/h beyond Ballarat, a day train to Mildura would be a
> better use of the equipment. The journey time would be roughly 7 hours.
>
> Cheers
> David

This raises some interesting questions regarding the line beyond Ballarat.

1. What is the maximum permissable speed Mildura to Ballarat currently?

2. Could a specially designed train eg tilt train go faster on existing
track between Mildura and Ballarat?

3. What would be the cheapest way to achieve a 5 hour service Mildura to
Melbourne (thus enabling a daylight round trip assuming Melbourne to
Ballarat was a 1 hour trip and the rest was express with maybe 1 further
stop at Maryborough?

4. Would it be better to create a link from Ouyen to Swan Hill so that
trains could go via Bendigo? As Bendigo would be 80 minutes from Melbourne
at higher speeds a greater portion of the journey would then be at higher
speeds. (What speed could a train travel Bendip to Swan Hill?). Anybody want
to estimate timings Mildura to Melbourne via Bendigo?

5. Why can't existing tracks take trains at 90 mph? They seem flat and
straight enough.

cheers Peter