The Albanese government is planning a major upgrade of the rail corridor between Sydney and Canberra, with an initial $50 million expected to be announced in Tuesday’s budget to begin early works aimed at reducing travel times and supporting new housing development along the route.
The project, which also extends benefits to key regional towns in between, is intended to make train travel more competitive with driving and flying, as current services take more than four hours and are slower than buses.
The proposal has been strongly supported by Infrastructure Australia and the Property Council, which argue that faster rail connections could unlock significant housing opportunities and ease pressure on people working in Sydney or Canberra by enabling more people to live in affordable regional areas while commuting.
Maddi Kourpanidis travels to Canberra for work and has recently started taking the train instead of driving because of rising fuel costs.
“I’ve now been taking the train because of the cost-of-living crisis, but the journey is often really long with patchy service,” she said.
Her most recent train trip included delays which extended the journey to five hours due to a “halt in Goulburn for more than an hour without explanation.”
With plans for a faster rail link between Sydney and Canberra underway, Maddi said the improvement would dramatically alter how frequently she makes the trip.
“I would take the train every time,” she said. “And I would go back every second week if that was the case. I limit it to every three weeks just because it is so expensive to drive.”
Her brother Jake, who lives in Newcastle and makes regular trips to Canberra, said the current rail service takes too long. “That’s why I sort of avoid taking the train,” he said.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
