Stand: That Australia develop a plan for the construction of the worlds most advanced high speed train network called The HyperTran.

Background: Japan built its first bullet train in 1964. It carries 150 million people a year. The Australian people should accept no more delays to building our own high speed train network and we should take the matter into our own hands and get it started immediately.
Picture
High Speed Train, China.
When I was in China earlier this year, I travelled between two major cities on a high speed train and it was the most enjoyable journey I’ve ever taken. The time before that I travelled on the Shanghai Maglev Train and sat back sipping my coffee whilst the speed topped 430km/h. I imagined myself riding to Canberra for the day to visit a gallery as I travelled with my 2000 fellow passengers at over 400 km/h in complete silence, safety and supreme comfort.

This country has needed a High Speed Train Network for generations. The reason we don't have one today is more about a lack of leadership than it is about the high cost. This lack of leadership is also the reason why we won't get one anytime soon unless we take some determined action to get the job started.

So far, all we have a High Speed Rail Report. You can read it here. After I read it I was left with two overriding conclusions.

1. The government isn't going to do it - it's been placed (stacked) in the too hard basket.
2. Even if they do, they'll choose the safe path using wheel-on-rail which is old technology.

The Official Report seems to have decided that;

If we ever did decide to build something of this scale then we should play it safe and go with with the older, proven technology of wheel on rail - basically train tracks.
It will take over 40 years to build.
The speed should be capped at 300km/h (making it the slowest high speed rail network in the world).

read more: http://www.visionforaustralia.com.au/hypertran.html
https://www.facebook.com/VisionForAustralia

No question, a fast train is very desirable.
I think the problem is that it is now too late.
With the end of growth here now, and the wind down of the world economy,
projects such as this are just unaffordable.

Our most important projects should be to make our freight networks
independent of imported oil. The recently funded project for the
Brisbane - Parkes - Melbourne rail project should be electrified.
Electrification of all mainline rail networks is essential to make
food distribution independent of imported liquid fuels.

Have you read the NRMA report on the risks to our fuel supplies ?
Currently we import 95% of petrol and diesel fuels.
Soon after Brisbane and Perth refineries close we will be importing
100% of our usage. The risk to our supply is high especially if the
situation in the Middle East escalates.

When it comes to financial resources you should see that the VFT has
to be well down the list compared to assuring the viability of food
distribution around the country.

Sorry, but that is the situation, it is more important to try and
wake up the politicians to our precarious fuel situation.
Our supply could be interrupted for a multitude of reasons, war, industrial
accident, terrorism at our source refineries or our terminals, or
politics or industrial union action.
A multitude of possibilities, and if it was a world wide interruption,
no one would want to surrender any of their supply to help us.

Hay I've got a great idea.

Lets put windmills on the top of that high speed train, to generate the electricity to drive the thing.

Well that is no more pie in the sky than thinking high speed trains are feasible in Oz, with our small population & vast distances. It is also no more stupid than believing we can run any electric trains with out coal or nuclear power generation.

All public transport is a catastrophe, costing more fuel per passenger mile than private cars, & costing billions in tax payer subsidies to run.

The last thing we need is yet another hugely expensive white elephant like the National broadband network is proving to be.

If you want to do something smart with rail, bring back steam. We have got plenty of coal to run the things, & they carry it with themselves. They don't require thousands of tons of copper transmission cable.

It could fix the dole bludger problem at the same time. Just make it mandatory for anyone on unemployment, parenting or other benefits to do a 6 month stint shoveling coal on the railway, after 6 months of dole. Bet they would all find a job pretty damn quick.

Obviously it's facetious saying we should put windmills on the trains but, powering the system at least in-part from renewables should be part of the plan. I'm also wanting us to reconsider the Nuclear Power Debate here: http://www.visionforaustralia.com.au/new-energy.html

As far as suggesting that we've got plenty of coal to power is just a backward looking perspective and basically the antithisis to a VISION for Australia.

Hasbeen, yes I think it could be done by steam, especially as most of
the distance of the inland route is flat, but with world peak coal,
although not Australian peak coal, in less that 20 years, electric
locomotives have a big advantage.
The initial outlay for the electrification would be less than the high
maintenance costs of steam locomotives.
Maintenance costs were the reason for the change to diesel electric locomotives.

All alternative sources of energy become electricity either generated
as such but are converted to electricity for transmission.

As much as I am fan of steam locos, I believe their time has passed.

"As far as suggesting that we've got plenty of coal to power is just a backward looking perspective and basically the antithisis to a VISION for Australia"

Modern coal fired locomotives are a good idea as are old coal fired ones.
They carry their fuel with them, they are independent of the electrical supply which can fail, and we have billions of tons of coal.

Far better to burn it in Australia where our usage rate would lower overall world pollution than to export it for others to pollute on the grand scale.

I too do a fair amount of overseas travel and I really enjoy train travel in India, where the speeds are low (although I have been on an express at 100 mph), one can enjoy the scenery during daylight and at night enjoy the comfort of a sleeping berth.

Next thing someone will start advocating Monorails!