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http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=your%
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Monday, 12 February 2007 
 
It's time to fast-track improved rail link 
Jenny Stewart 


DO YOU remember the Very Fast Train? The VFT was a proposal, first put 
forward by CSIRO chairman Paul Wild in the early 1980s, for a high-speed 
rail link between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. Although the idea 
generated considerable support from business it foundered, eventually, on 
the hard rocks of economic viability. Without considerable public support 
in the form of tax and other concessions, the idea was not economically 
feasible.
After the VFT fell through, a consortium called SpeedRail won a tender 
process to develop a proposal for a high-speed train between Sydney and 
Canberra. But that too faded away. 

The nation did, eventually, get a new rail link when the Howard Government 
contributed $100 million to build a new line between Alice Springs and 
Darwin. Now tourists can ride in style to the tropics on The Ghan. 

Meanwhile, back in south-eastern Australia, there is still no direct rail 
link between Canberra and Melbourne. A train service operates between 
Canberra and Sydney, as it has done for the best part of a century. But it 
is a long way from being fast. 

The trip, at over four hours, is probably no quicker than it was in the 
1930s. At that time, it took a car the best part of a day to make the 
journey. Now thanks to the billions that have been spent on the highway, it 
is possible to drive (or travel by bus) to Sydney in under three hours. 

So does the train service between Canberra and Sydney have a future? It is 
no secret that the NSW Government, which operates the service through 
RailCorp, would like to close down as many of its rural rail services as 
possible. Maintaining the tracks is expensive, while the upkeep of 
interstate highways attracts plenty of Commonwealth funding.

Nevertheless the train refuses to die. Not everyone wants to drive to 
Sydney. Not everyone has a car. Not everyone can afford air travel. The 
buses are cheap and efficient, but you cannot move around on the bus. And 
for many, getting on and off an inter-city coach is quite difficult. 

And there is something about trains that sets them apart, some sense of 
expectation and possibility that no amount of neglect can extinguish. There 
is more ceremony about leaving the white flag, the whistle than attaches to 
other forms of transport. Those on the platform know that their loved ones 
are leaving, and they know that they have arrived. And there is a lingering 
sense of romance, as well. It is hard to imagine that Vronsky would have 
bothered pursuing Anna Karenina had she left for St Petersburg by bus.

You see a lot more from the train to Sydney than you do from a car or bus. 
The route is endlessly fascinating, and the section through the Molonglo 
gorge, genuinely scenic. Many people genuinely enjoy rail travel, and would 
even pay extra for the privilege.

The fortunes of the service have fluctuated over the years. When I first 
came to Canberra in the 1970s, the train was hauled by a diesel locomotive, 
and the carriages were 1950s vintage, still with their foot-warmers, timber-
panelling and water bottles. In the 1980s, the Wran government invested in 
a state-wide express passenger network in which the ACT was included; then 
after a tricky period in which the 1950s seemed to return, the Explorer 
rail cars were introduced in the early 1990s.

But the Explorer train is now 15 years old, and has clearly seen better 
days. There has been some investment in the section of track between 
Goulburn and Canberra, so that the train can now go faster than it used to. 
But despite the often heroic efforts of its drivers, it is almost 
invariably late. Track-work has to be negotiated at careful speed. And if 
the train misses its slot leaving or arriving into Sydney, it crawls at an 
agonising pace.

RailCorp provides no data on individual Countrylink services, but the 
Canberra-Sydney link undoubtedly loses money. Pensioners, seniors and 
students can get half-price fares (indeed pensioners are entitled to four 
free rail trips a year). If at times the train seems like the welfare state 
on wheels, it is, at least, providing a social service. But even if 
populated solely by full-fare customers, at its current scale, I suspect 
that the service would still not break even. With just three carriages, it 
is not moving enough people per journey to make money.

With its vast distances and relatively small populations, we know that 
Australia is not a "natural" country for passenger rail travel. And yet it 
seems bizarre that in the 21st century, we do not have a fast, efficient 
rail service between its biggest city and the national capital. The very 
fast train was too grandiose a dream. Even Speedrail was perhaps too 
ambitious a proposal.

But much could be done to make the current service more attractive to more 
people. Judicious investment in track improvement, and upgrading or at 
least streamlining the safe-travel procedures on the single track between 
Canberra and Goulburn, would make a difference. And new carriages, with a 
smarter food service, would surely attract more paying customers. 

The hard-working Explorer staff, who I know take great pride in their 
train, would just love to work on a revitalised Federal Capital Express.

So here is a challenge for the governments of the ACT, NSW and the 
Commonwealth. Why not get together and actually sort this one out? How 
about a bit of public imagination for a change?

"Where is the money to come from?" I hear you say. 

Maybe the ubiquitous Macquarie Bank, which at the moment targets the low-
hanging commercial fruit, could be persuaded to do something socially, 
environmentally and economically useful for a change. Or maybe we should 
just get Malcolm Turnbull, the man who would walk on water if we had any, 
to get things moving.

Dr Jenny Stewart is Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University 
of Canberra