The idea takes form

The idea for a "very fast train" came from Dr Paul Wild, then head of the CSIRO. He was riding on the XPT between Canberra and Sydney, a service which had been introduced recently, when he noted that the journey time was slower than the journey between London and Exeter was in 1848!

He and some fellow CSIRO scientists developed the idea for a Very Fast Train linking Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne and put a formal proposed to the Federal Government in 1984. The idea was summarily dismissed by the government as a "pipe dream" after only a very brief examination.

The idea did not go away and was revived in 1986 by TNT Chairman Sir Peter Abeles. With that, the VFT was born.

Bibliography:

Wild, J. P. Brotchie, J. F. and Nicholson, A. J. A Proposal for a Fast Railway Between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne: An Exploratory Study. CSIRO, Canberra, May 1984.
A Fast Railway Between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne: a CSIRO Proposal. [CSIRO], Canberra, January 1985.
House of Representatives Hansard. 12 September 1984, p. 1119.

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