Despite being publicly skeptical about the suitability of high-speed rail travel in NSW, premier Gladys Berejiklian is now saying she would like to see interstate bullet trains introduced in Australia.
Ms Berejiklian told the Sydney Morning Herald that she fully supports a high-speed rail link connecting major cities.
‘Of course we would love to see high speed rail servicing our State but for this to be viable it would need to travel beyond NSW and it would require federal involvement,’ she explained.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian says she would like to see bullet trains connect NSW and VIC
The NSW Premier recently returned from Tokyo, where bullet trains travel at 240-320 km/hr
Berejiklian was accompanied by Australian Olympian Ian Thorpe as she travelled around Japan
The NSW Premier recently returned from a trip to Tokyo, where bullet trains travel at 240-320 kilometres an hour.
At that speed, a train could cover the distance between Sydney and Melbourne in approximately three hours.
Ms Berejiklian also acknowledged her change of heart on the issue as she toured Japanese transport facilities with Olympian Ian Thorpe.
As Transport Minister in 2013, she said ‘don’t hold your breath’ waiting for fast rail travel to be an option in Australia.
However, Ms Berejiklian told an audience in Tokyo that ‘it is getting closer and closer to the time we can start thinking about having fast rail services in NSW’.
She also said that she was inspired by the punctuality and selflessness of Japanese transport staff, and that she wanted to change the culture of NSW transport for the better.
Newly-developed trains in China will soon be able to reach a maximum speed of 600km/h
Chester said two weeks ago that bullet trains were ‘a long way off’, but has changed his mind
Federal Transport Minister Darren Chester said two weeks ago that bullet trains were ‘a long way off’ in Australia, but a trip to China seems to have changed his mind.
After visiting China in July, he said that travelling by high-speed rail was ‘quite staggering’, and that Australia was ‘envious’ of the quick travel times between cities.
An report repared by Infrastructure Australia has indicated that a Sydney-to-Melbourne high-speed rail link may be viable by 2032, but should be planned by 2020 before it becomes unaffordable.
A Sydney-to-Melbourne high-speed rail link may be viable by 2032, according to a report
The estimated cost of a high-speed line between Sydney and Melbourne will be $720 million
The Turnbull government is expected to call for proposals next month, according to Fairfax.
The estimated cost of the line will reportedly be $720 million, but Ms Berejiklian is not ready to commit to the project yet.
She is still considering ‘all relevant options’ such as improving the current transport system, before committing to any new infrastructure.