Re: East Coast Very High Speed Train Scoping Study

[matthew@mail.usyd.edu.au (Matthew Geier)]

In article <3add3a0a$0$25512$7f31c96c@news01.syd.optusnet.com.au>,
James C. <james_ccj@optusnet.com.au> wrote:
>
>"> There wouldn't be an election this year, would there?
>> What is the Government doing about improving passenger rail in Australia?
>> Oh, this is under active consideration, we've commissioned a study!
>> Big deal Libs and Nats, we've heard it all before ad nauseum.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> David Bennetts
>
>Sydney and Melbourne route might be the 3rd businest route in the world but
>with all those cut price discount airlines would VHST survive competition?

 Eventually those 'cut price' airlines are going to have to make money. It
operating a fleet of aircraft really THAT much cheaper than operating a fleet
of high speed trains ?.
 I would imagine in the long run, the trains are cheaper to operate. What would
be the killer is finance. Those airlines can get cheap finance to startup. A
repossessed plane can be used by any number of other people and the capital
is in those re-deployable assets. 
 No one is going to lend money for the railway infrastructure and the trainsets
can only be used on very few railways...

 Id say give the Australian air market a year or so and the prices will have
to rise. If nothing else, they have to cover the cost of the fuel those planes
use, and with some of those fares, they can't be far of the base price of the
fuel to move those passengers. Then they actually have to maintain the things...