High Speed Rail, or just high-er speed?

N700A Shinkansen in Kyoto

There's a long-standing debate amongst public transport advocates in Australia over whether we should be pushing for a brand new High Speed Rail link between Melbourne and Sydney, or for upgrades to the existing line. There are pros and cons to both approaches, and I've always struggled to come to a firm conclusion - but I think I've finally made up my mind. 

Airport Rail and the Geelong Diversion

HCMTs will run to the Airport via the Metro 1 tunnel (via RPV)

The Age and the Herald Sun are reporting that the State and Federal governments have come to an agreement on the Airport Rail project. Let's take a look at what they've agreed to, and what it means for different groups.

Not just carbon: the problems with planes

A plane flying over Uilenstede on approach to Schiphol Airport

Travel Diaries: United Kingdom (Part 2)

In Part 1, we looked at the trip from Amsterdam to London, and I'd just departed from London Euston station.

Travel Diaries: United Kingdom (Part 1)

Should High Speed Rail be part of a green stimulus?

Australia, and the world, is in the midst of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and everyone is (quite rightly) pretty focused on the task of actually fighting the disease right now. But it is quite clear that this fight will tip us over into a recession - if not a full-blown depression - and so we're starting to see some early thoughts on what kinds of actions governments can take to get the economy moving once we're in that recovery phase.

Save the Overland (Part 2)

The Overland leaving Ararat Station

The historic Overland is struggling to survive - dependant on government subsidies that it cannot rely on indefinitely. Yesterday I discussed why the Overland declined, why this mirrored other rail services in Victoria, and how those other services turned things around - with a bold strategic vision, and the funding to back it up. It should by now be abundantly clear to everyone involved with Victorian rail that if you build it, they will come - serious investments will be rewarded with increased passenger numbers, so rather than just small bandaid measures to keep the Overland on life support, we need to treat it with the same seriousness as any other line.

Travel Diaries: European High Speed Rail

Partly for environmental reasons, and partly because I want to see more of the countries I'm passing through, I try to avoid flying as much as possible, and prefer to take the train instead. So now that I'd arrived in continental Europe, with its fairly comprehensive long-distance rail network, there would be no more flying and no more investigating airport rail - it's overland High Speed Rail all the way to Amsterdam.