[Peakoil] Rethinking nation's needs on rail transport

[Keith]

On 07/12/2012, at 11:39 PM, Antony Barry wrote:

> http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/-2b17c.html

Richard Dennis' style is compelling. His way of marshalling facts and creating new perspectives is rare and valuable. I'm glad he's on "my side".

But he leaves out of his analysis the energy used to fuel his fast trains. There is also the question of whether a fast train is worth the bother - do we really need to fill supermarket shelves in Sydney with food from Melbourne a few hours sooner than at present? Wouldn't a fast train network just make us more vulnerable to the inherent fragilities of just-in-time supply lines? Has anyone looked at what is being transported and asked the question asked on railway posters in WW2 Britain "Is your journey really necessary?".

We Australians seem to be dazzled by high technology: I admit that the images before my mind of fast trains are dominated by Japan's bullet train whooshing by Mount Fuji, but not the wildlife disrupted by the track and its use. Nor of the latest model iPhone speeding to its breathless consumers. I also have the image of a fast train crash caused by vandals loosening a rail or setting explosives on the track.

So, although I am right behind Richard's assertion that the money allocated for the proposed submarine fleet could be better spent on fast rail, it might be even better spent on education and training of Australians and the establishment and maintenance of local manufacturing so that people in Melbourne could buy washing machines made in Melbourne rather than washing machines made in South Korea that have been transported down a fast train line from a port in Sydney. Australian products need not be as ugly as the Lloyd-Hartnett car or the last AWA television sets. 

The so-called "economies of scale" argument holds up only if the externalities of environmental costs/damage, vulnerabilities due to complexity, dependence upon fickle suppliers, a low level of technical skills in the community, spread of pandemics, international tension and conflict in the battle for cheap energy etc. are left out of the equation.