> There is no doubt that if enough money was spent on upgrading the Melb to
> Adelaide line then it would eventually lead to reduced travelling times and
> also to a greater number of passengers , but to what end.
> These increased passengers will come from the existing airlines and from the
> bus companies.
This argument is analogous to saying that competition is not necessary
because all that occurs is that customers go from one supplier to
another.
It stands to reason that a top quality service on good track at a
competitive price would give the airlines and coaches further
competition which can only be good for customers. [Are you reading this
Alan Fels?]. The price structures and standards of service, if improved,
would attract NEW customers to transport between the two cities. There
will be new customers attracted for the following reason;
- some will say 'let's go to the footy in Adelaide/Melbourne
(particularly those with a fear of flying)
- some will be attracted because of the new service and want to try it
out
- some will see it as a way to go to and from business meetings
interstate without the hassles of airports
- some will be attracted because of the improved standards of service,
particularly the high standards of coffee served on board (see my
earlier post)
- some will be further discouraged from driving by the prescence of this
new high speed transport option
- flying won't set you down in the centre of the city (or close to it) -
the new high speed service will attract passengers because of its
integration with existing public transport networks
> In the case of the airlines since we already have airports at Melbourne and
> Adelaide and both are underutilised (Sydney is the only Airport in Australia
> that is near its max capacity.).,what is the point of spending buckets more
> money to simply provide another way to get from Melb to Adelaide.
Pollution? Noise? High speed freight? Improved service for country folk?
Service?
> There is no suggestion that Melb or Adelaide Airport are anywhere near to max
> capacity,nor is the Dukes Highway between Melb and Adelaide grinding to a halt
> from excessive busses .
No but there have been plenty of drivers (both commercial and private)
who run off the road from drugs/sleeplessness. Further any reduction in
road tranport will result in reduced road maintenance costs.
> The argument would be somewhat differant between Melb and Sydney as in this
> case any actions to reduce the number of Airline movements at Sydney Airport
> is worth doing , ie if we could get an improvement in the Melb - Sydney rail
> system it would be worth spending money on.
Adelaide is closer than Sydney to state the obvious.
> Sadly this isnt going to happen , as the majority of Melb - Sydney is under
> the control of RAC who up until now have shown no inclinination to spend
> anything on upgrading or improving the main southern line, and you can't expect
> the feds to do it ,whilst its owned by someone else.
Sooner or later the worm will turn. I predict that once the first
genuinely high speed railway between two capital cities is built eg a
Melb-Syd TGV link, there will be intense pressure from the public and
business community for other capitals to be linked in like fashion. It's
a bit like some forms of drugs - once they've tried it they're hooked.
Personally I think Melb-Adel is a better place to start because this was
the first intercapital railway passenger service in Australia.
cheers Peter