Re: HST's, pollies and dreamers.

[Dion Williams <dion5@hotmail.com>]

Tell wrote:
 
> Who would have guessed that the Melbourne to Darwin
> high speed railway would be back on the agenda.
> 
> I see a big problem.  The world's economies are in
> turmoil at the moment, keep your eyes on Japan, this is
> a real worry.  Any idea's where you would raise 8 BIL
> bucks to build a railway from Melbourne to Darwin.
> A railway incidentally, that has nothing but hot air
> going for it at the moment.
> 
> The Alice to Darwin railway has been on the agenda for
> a long time and is in it's final stages of planning.
> Whoever wins the contract will probably have trouble
> raising 1.2 BILLION, never mind 8 BILLION.!

Perhaps before marching into the 21st century Australian rail could
first try to get itself out of the 19th century. There is absolutely no
need for a high speed link of this kind. What there is a need for is a
conventional route to develop the north of Australia as a link to Asia.
The proposed Tennant Creek-Longreach-Brisbane link would also be an
excellent idea saving transport times from the east coast. An extended
Melbourne-Darwin Ghan would have enormous tourist potential.

Dion Williams <dion5@hotmail.com>