'It would be a game changer': Calls grow to build high-speed 350km/h bullet train between Melbourne and Sydney that would cut travel time to just three hours
- Proponents of high-speed rail are calling on the government to build the system
- Anthony Albanese said that a high speed rail system would be a 'game changer'
- Supporters want to emulate the high-speed rail line found in China
- The government states that it is up to state governments to begin the process
Calls are growing a high-speed bullet train between Melbourne and Sydney, which at 350km/h would cut travel time to only three hours.
That would cut eight hours off the current trip between Broadmeadows Station in Melbourne and Central Station in Sydney, which now takes about 11 hours.
Anthony Albanese, Shadow Minister for Transport, Cities and Regional Development, said the creation of a high-speed rail system would be a 'game changer' for Australia.
Demands have grown for a high-speed bullet could travel at speeds between 250 - 350km/h (stock image)
The high-speed bullet train could reduce the travel time from to Sydney to Melbourne from 11 hours to only three hours
Mr Albanese has long been a proponent of a high-speed rail system in Sydney, but also wants to expand it across the whole country.
'We should bite the bullet and go for a high-speed rail connection not just through Sydney but right through to Melbourne and then north to Sydney,' Mr Albanese told 2HD Newcastle.
'It would be a real game changer - it is expensive, but nation-building requires vision.'
Mr Albanese believes that a route between Melbourne and Newcastle should be the starting point for the project.
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The plans to develop a high-speed rail line within Australia were inspired by China, who has been at the forefront of the technology.
High-speed trains in China travel at speeds from 250 - 350km/h, and run on 29,000km of train lines, the world's longest high-speed railway network.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk also pitched land-based technology known as the Hyperloop to the Federal Government back in 2012.
Australia would attempt to emulate the high-speed rail system in China which has a fleet of trains that connects the majority of the country
The Hyperloop could reach speeds of 1,200km/h and would allow commuters travelling between Sydney and Melbourne to reach their destination in as little as 40 minutes.
Hyperloop is a passenger or freight transportation system that uses reduced-pressure tubes where pressurised capsules ride on air bearings driven by linear induction motors and axial compressors.
Federal Cities and Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge said that Australia needs high-speed rail but it is up to the states to acquire the land.
'High-speed rails have to be part of the landscape in the future,' Mr Tudge said.
Mr Albanese passed a bill which would create a High Speed Rail Authority designed to begin working with states to buy land and secure the corridor needed for train lines
'Corridor preservation is critical, which only state governments have the power to do.'
Infrastructure Australia said that preserving land along the corridor would cost $2.8 billion.
A bill proposed by Anthony Albanese passed Federal Parliament late last year that would create a High-Speed Rail Authority to advance plans for a high-speed rail line.
The High-Speed Rail Authority is tasked with starting work with all of the states to begin buying land for the train line and securing the corridor.
'High-speed rail is not only a viable and an economic benefit to the nation but it would super-charge regional economic growth,' Mr Albanese said in a statement.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian appointed a rail infrastructure committee in December, 2018 to advise the government on building a fast-rail network across four potential routes that include Canberra, Newcastle and Wollongong.
'This is a social issue, not just an economic issue,' Ms Berejiklian told reporters.
'It's about giving our citizens choice about how they live, where they love and how they can be better connected.'
Premier Berejiklian said work on the high-speed rail network she proposed would start by 2023 with a focus on upgrading existing rail corridors first before building new lines.
The plan would not connect Melbourne or Brisbane, unlike the plan proposed by Labor.
Elon Musk pitched a proposal to the Federal Government for the Hyperloop, which is a passenger and freight transportation system that could reach speeds of 1,200km/h
