Re: Build VFT link for tourism sake

["Al" <alpout@optusnet.com.au>]

"David Bromage" <dbromage@fang.omni.com.au> wrote in message
3ACC0F0A.CB1ECBDA@fang.omni.com.au">news:3ACC0F0A.CB1ECBDA@fang.omni.com.au...
> Al wrote:
> > When you think about it, a VFT between Sydney and Newcastle is probably
the
> > best idea (not that you'll ever hear any plans for one, most of the
pollies
> > think that NSW stops at the Hawkesbury).  There's 2 large cities (4
million on
> > one hand, 500 000-odd on the other), reasonably close together (150km or
so),
> > and the ability to encourage more long distance commuting from outside the
> > Sydney basin.  Better reasons than the VFT link to Canberra (Newcastle's
> > bigger and closer to Sydney for a start).
>
> On the other hand, Sydney - Newcastle is the second worst location in
> the country to try to build a fast train, after Sydney to Lithgow. :)

Yeah, nothing good is ever easy.  Still, I'd say that building the Channel
Tunnel was pretty difficult, and yet it now accounts for at least 60 percent
of the traffic between London and Paris (my bro, who lives in London, reckons
it is well and truly the best way to get between them and regularly jumps on
for weekends away to gay Paree).  OK, not a good example as the sizes are too
different, but you get the point (I hope).

> You can't just look at population and guess the market. You need to look
> at the actual number of journeys. For example, there are about 4 million
> passenger journeys by car between Sydney and Canberra each year.

True, you can't.  I used to live near the end of the F3 Freeway.  When the
extension to that was opened in November 1998, it was carrying 23 000 vehicles
per day (both directions, average of weekdays and weekends).  This is around
8.4 million per year.  Admittedly, most of this was interstate traffic heading
to Brisbane, however there is still a large population (around 60 000) who are
served directly by the end of the freeway there (mainly Maitland, and the
suburbs down to Beresfield).  This does not count the number of trips made
from Newcastle, through Charlestown and down the eastern side of Lake
Macquarie to the freeway at Wallarah Creek, or those from the freeway through
the Link Road and George Booth Drive from Seahampton to Wallsend.  And
naturally it doesn't count the number of Central Coast and western Lake
Macquarie commuters who travel down, by train and by car, each day (try going
southbound through the Somersby interchange on the F3 between 5:45 and 7:00am
each day, and you'll see what I mean).  I don't have any figures on how many
trips are made, but I'll try to find some.