One of the issues not discussed as far as I know during the ACT election was the train service between Canberra and Sydney.
I admit to being a train tragic. If practical, I favour travel by rail over any other form of public transport.
![A comfortable high-speed train would encourage more people to visit Canberra.](/web/20161026190808im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/9/6/x/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gs96lz.png/1477290375792.jpg)
In the past three years I have taken trains between Moscow and London, London and Brussels, Paris and London, Toulouse and Paris, Barcelona and Lézignan-Corbières (France), Madrid and Barcelona, Exeter and London, Tehran and Yazd (Iran), Pyongyang and Sinuiju (North Korea), Dandong and Beijing, and Samarkand and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Domestically, in the same period, I travelled by rail between Sydney and Melbourne and Canberra and Sydney.
Of those journeys (of up to three days in length) the most uncomfortable was the overnight train from Sydney to Melbourne, sitting on a hard seat that would not recline (I tried to get one of the few sleeping compartments but they were sold-out a couple of weeks before.) Probably the slowest journey was the one between Canberra and Sydney.
Rail management is a mystery in Australia. Relatives of mine tried to book a sleeper compartment on a Queensland train and were told it was booked out months ahead. The obvious question: why does Queensland not have more sleeper compartments or run more trains?
What my experience suggests is we lag behind many undeveloped countries when it comes to passenger rail services – but it need not cost a fortune to have something way better than what we have at the moment, particularly between Canberra and Sydney.
Most of the train-upgrade studies focus on very fast trains of the European or Japanese variety, capable of speeds of 350 kilometres per hour or more on a new continuous-rail track. That is obviously going to be very expensive, but is not the only option available.
Take my recent experience with the Samarkand-Tashkent rail link in Uzbekistan as an example.
The distance between Samarkand and Tashkent is 344km (the distance between Canberra and Sydney is 286km).
In 2011, the Samarkand-Tashkent track was of a similar standard to the one between Canberra and Sydney. To improve the service it was decided to upgrade it – but not to a costly, very fast European standard, just to a more modest and affordable high-speed standard.
Construction began on the track upgrade on March 11, 2011, at a budgeted cost of $US70 million. The work included new and rebuilt track, as well as more modern signalling systems.
Two Talgo 250 train sets were ordered from Talgo, the Spanish rail vehicle manufacturing company, at a cost of $US42 million for delivery in July 2011.
The Talgo 250 is a dual-voltage electric train (AC/DC) equipped with variable gauge axles. This allows the units to be used on high-speed lines and on conventional broad gauge lines. Each train set consists of two power cars, a dining car and eight passenger cars – with a capacity for 257 people.
The Samarkand-Tashkent upgrade was completed in just over six months and the line opened for high-speed operation in October 2011. The cost including the two train sets was $US112 million.
The speed of the Uzbekistan train is limited to 250km/h. Even so, the train journey between Samarkand and Tashkent, with stops, takes two hours. By contrast, the shorter journey between Canberra and Sydney, with stops, takes over four hours – about 45 minutes slower than a Murrays or Greyhound coach. Little wonder that most people choose to travel by coach.
In July 2015, Talgo stated its intention to ship a Series 9 train to India at its own cost as a demonstrator on the Mumbai-Delhi rail route. Talgo might be receptive to doing something similar here.
Wouldn't it be nice if the new ACT government took the initiative to work with NSW to achieve a similar rail service upgrade for us by the end of 2017? The cost would be modest compared to light rail. We would not need two train sets so the cost would be about $US91 million or A$120 million split between two governments.
A comfortable high-speed train would encourage more people to visit Canberra from Sydney. It would reduce road traffic between Canberra and Sydney and make daily commuting to Sydney a viable option, not only from Canberra but also from rural NSW. A high-speed train could also be linked with Canberra airport to provide a connecting service to and from Sydney for international travellers.
Clive Williams is an adjunct professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy and a visiting professor at the Australian National University's Centre for Military and Security Law. He is also a seasoned rail traveller.