ACT Independent Senator David Pocock has welcomed the announcement of $50 million in Federal Funding towards upgrading the Sydney to Canberra rail line but said it wasn’t enough to make a significant difference to travel times.
“A faster Sydney to Canberra rail line is something I have pushed for on behalf of Canberrans in multiple pre-budget submissions, including my most recent one,” Senator Pocock said.
“I’m really pleased to finally see some progress on a faster, if not fast, rail connection between Sydney and Canberra. When I asked about this at Senate Estimates in February this year, the Department of Infrastructure confirmed that the NSW government had approached them about investing in upgrading the line but the ACT government hadn’t.
“Hopefully today’s announcement marks a renewed commitment from all three governments to delivering a genuinely upgraded rail link between Sydney and Canberra in the foreseeable future.
“While the additional $50 million in federal funding is welcome, it won’t go very far and feels a bit tokenistic and is less than 1% of the $6 billion the Federal Government is tipping in for the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne, or the $230 million they have committed to high speed rail between Sydney and Newcastle - a city that has a similar population size to the Canberra region.
“From what I can see there’s no timeline for the upgrades outlined in this announcement and no indication of what kind of time savings or service improvement it will deliver and these are the details Canberrans will want to see.
“I hope there will be more substantial investment in the ACT announced in tomorrow’s budget.”
For context, the Canberra to Sydney rail route currently receives just 21, three-carriage passenger train services in each direction per week, while the Newcastle to Sydney route benefits from a similar number of services every day, with most services also having greater capacity.
This disparity limits the attractiveness, accessibility and reliability of rail travel for people in the Canberra region and constrains opportunities for economic, social and environmental benefits associated with improved intercity rail.
In his “Vision for Canberra” Senator Pocock has previously reflected the feedback of people across the community that an almost 4.5-hour train ride from Sydney to Canberra is not conducive to what people in the ACT want for our national capital. There’s a strong view that the potential of high(er)-speed rail, initially from Canberra to Goulburn and Yass, and finally to Sydney and Melbourne, would make rail travel an attractive, low-carbon alternative to driving or flying between these destinations. It would also support more affordable housing within a short transit, fostering a more balanced pattern of population and economic growth across the Canberra Region.
Fastrack Australia produced a 2023 plan that lays out a staged approach to upgrading the existing line, rather than replacing it with a new one.
Building on the Canberra-Goulburn-Yass spur, Fastrack proposes staged upgrades to the Canberra-to-Sydney line that would offer a 90-minute Canberra-to-Sydney trip after the fifth stage of works is complete. Reduced travel times across the Canberra Region will accelerate the growth of regional centres surrounding the ACT, like Yass and Goulburn, by increasing their felt proximity to the city, thereby making faster trains a key enabler of regional economic growth.