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Proponents of fast rail breathed a gusty sigh of relief when the federal government pledged $1 billion in the October budget to begin the process of modernising the nation’s network.
“It was great news – along with setting up the Faster Rail Agency – we’re hoping that will continue getting the momentum that it really needs,” says Cindy Williams, a director in the Australian mobility team for global engineering and professional services firm, Arcadis.
“Pretty much every state apart from Tasmania and the Northern Territory, now have a form of a fast rail project in the planning or delivery stages.
Most states have a fast rail project in the planning or delivery stages. 
“There is a bit more momentum, a bit more general acceptance of the level of investment needed and a more broader understanding of the benefits fast rail can bring for regional communities
Australia is still a long way from having the kinds of trains many of us have experienced in Europe, Japan and China – high-speed refuges where you can charge your phone, get some work done, have a glass of wine with a decent meal; not to mention do basic things like using the bathroom without risking your health.
Williams says a lot of things go against Australia when it comes to creating those sorts of rail experiences Down Under.
“We have an active aviation industry, we have multiple different political parties, we have multiple different jurisdictions which hampers cross-border funding agreements, different engineering standards,” she says.
“There are lots of barriers that in the past have, have not allowed the train journeys many of us have experienced overseas.”
She says that one factor that is driving change are concerns people are making about their own carbon footprint.
Williams’ Netherlands-based firm is a key player in a £43 billion fast rail through Britain. 
“The political environment is changing and the sustainability aspect of fast rail is a real driver of change,” says Williams, whose Netherlands-based firm is a key player in HS2 (High Speed 2) – a £43 billion fast rail through the centre of Britain, from London to Glasgow in three hours at speeds of up to 400km/h.
Williams says reducing carbon – particularly on the Sydney-Melbourne air corridor, until recently the world’s busiest – is part of the picture.
People are now making a conscious decision how and when they travel for work between regions and our capital cities.
There are people starting to make the decision to catch the overnight train between Sydney and Melbourne and It’s about 12 hours between Sydney and Melbourne, but they can get some sleep because they’re conscious that that’s less of a carbon footprint than getting on a plane.
But, Williams says fast rail is not just about reducing carbon and boosting productivity while traveling in safety and comfort.
“It’s not necessarily just for people wanting to get to Melbourne, to Sydney, to Newcastle or Brisbane. It’s also about connectivity and opening up opportunities for regional development,” she says.
“Everyone talks about how 5G will unlock the potential of regional communities, but it’s fast rail that will really support people to live, work and thrive outside of our major urban centres.
“We’ve got lots of pockets of social disadvantage and very diverse demographics in the regions, so just being able to open up areas of the country to get better access, and more affordable, equitable access to things like jobs, education, health care, will be part of the fast rail equation.”
Independent think tank, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Dwyer also welcomed the federal government’s budget allocation for fast rail, adding that there are three parts to building high speed rail in Australia.
“It is really three projects – reserve the corridor, grow the population so it makes sense and then build the thing,” says Dwyer, whose organisation’s executive member network spans the public and private sectors.
“But if we don’t reserve the corridor, we’ll never get the chance to build high speed rail because it will be prohibitively expensive.
“The recent $500 million budget allocation by the federal Government towards planning, corridor acquisition and early works, is an important and necessary start.”
Dwyer says that affordability is key to high speed rail in Australia and called for cross-bench support and a national conversation.
“If high speed rail is planned properly, we determine it’s feasible and the very substantial taxpayer funding is available, we will need to have a serious national conversation about whether that’s how we want to invest the public dollars.
“Strategically there is a good case for the answer being yes, but an investment that could top $200 billion would need cross-party, cross-community and cross-generational consensus.”
Williams says that young engineering graduates coming out of our universities “do not necessarily want to be building roads for individual private cars”.
“Private cars will only contribute to congestion and carbon – our young engineers want to be working on projects where they will be leaving a lasting legacy and contribute to developing sustainable and thriving communities,” she says.
To learn more, visit https://www.arcadis.com.
This content has been funded by an advertiser and written by the Nine commercial editorial team.
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