Background
Because the development of railways in Australia pre-dated Federation, each state developed its own system with a different gauge and rolling-stock. The great distances between the colonies meant that planners gave little thought to connecting to other systems. The result of this was a national network of several different gauges; this necessitated train changes at the break-of-gauge, prevented economies of scale, and in some cases eventually resulted in a very expensive standardisation. Despite these disadvantages, for a time rail was the preferred method of interstate travel in Australia. However, the advent of air travel and the private automobile gradually replaced rail as the major passenger services. Rail has been only a marginal passenger-market player in recent decades.
The construction of a high-speed rail link along the east coast of Australia has been the target of several investigations since the early 1980s. Air travel dominates the inter-capital travel market, and intra-rural travel is almost exclusively car-based. Rail has a significant presence in the rural / city fringe commuter market, but inter-capital rail currently has very low market share due to low speeds and infrequent service. However, the duration of travel between the capitals by high-speed rail could be as quick or faster than air travel – a 500 km/h (310 mph) Maglev train could reduce travel time from Melbourne to Sydney to about three hours, while the more conventional 350 km/h (220 mph) technology (such as TGV and Shinkansen) would take about four hours. Various studies and recommendations have asserted that a high speed rail service between the major eastern capital cities could be viable as an alternative to air. Although such studies have generated much interest from the private sector and captured the imagination of the general public upon their release, to date no private-sector proposal has been able to demonstrate financial viability without the need for significant government assistance.
A mature high-speed rail system would be economically competitive with air and automobile travel, provide mass transit without dependence on imported oil, have a duration of travel that would compare with air travel or be quicker, and would reduce national carbon dioxide emissions.
The major issues preventing the adoption of high-speed rail in Australia include, according to Philip Laird:
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