The Southern XPLPORER at Canberra station Photo: John Coleman.
It’s easy to understand people’s scepticism about the Train.
A faster train to Sydney has been discussed for so long that it’s now seen as a chimera.
But it is frustrating to hear the naysayers talk down even unambitious and relatively inexpensive proposals.
Whenever the Chief Minister raises the possibility he is immediately pilloried for using it as a distraction from more pressing concerns.
Mr Barr was asked about the train this week at an announcement of federal funding towards planning for the Railway Precinct urban renewal project, which will include a new station.
He also discussed this at the Canberra Business Chamber’s State of the Territory event the day before.
For the purists, the pragmatic Mr Barr has let the side down by shunting the Very Fast Train onto a siding and concentrating on the more prosaic task of fixing the current track, thereby reducing the journey time to a competitive three hours.
This is something that he believes is realistic and achievable, as opposed to the never-never of a VFT dash to the Smoke in under two hours.
The cost would be in the tens of millions, not billions.
It is a project long overdue, but in the bizarre and lamentable history of rail in this country, that is unsurprising.
That may change in the new year, when Mr Barr says a list of works should be finalised by the working group and submitted to Commonwealth, state and territory budget processes.
This is as close as we have got to achieving an acceptable 21st-century rail link between the two capitals, if not as exciting as a bullet train or TGV.
A three-hour journey on a new train that offers a comfortable experience with a sufficient number of carriages to meet demand, something the ACT will need to lobby for, would compare favourably with road and air travel.
Current rail one-way tickets range from $42.95 economy to $87.15 first class, according to the Transport NSW website.
Compare that to the sky-high airfares and flight cancellations of the Canberra-Sydney air route.
Recently, you could buy a cheaper return flight to Bali than a one-way ticket to Sydney.
It may only be an hour in the air, but adding the journey time to and from airports, as well as check-in and waiting times, makes it at least three hours.
The train will also take you directly into the centre of Sydney, which, if that is where you intend to spend your stay for work or leisure, is the height of convenience.
Admittedly, the Kingston location of Canberra Railway Station is an anachronism. It should always have been in Civic.
But it has taxi, Uber or bus connections to take arriving passengers wherever.
A secure park-and-ride area would be welcome and hopefully part of the proposed transport hub for the Railway Precinct.
The station itself has never been suitable for the national capital. But best to fix the track first and provide a faster service.
On the road, two and a half to three hours will get you to Campbelltown and then good luck with the traffic. Anyone who claims they can drive to Sydney in three and a half hours is either a liar or a maniac.
For those who love the bus, you are welcome. I’d rather have the space, freedom and safety of a train carriage any day, especially if the operator made it an enjoyable experience. And that doesn’t mean it has to be the Orient Express.
A faster service is in NSW’s interests, especially if it can encourage new development along sections of the line and disperse population west away from Sydney.
It may not become a very fast train, but a faster train that can match it with road and air would be a good thing, because better transport connections pay economic and social dividends.
The Chief Minister should be commended for not letting this go, and NSW and the Commonwealth should finally get on board.
One day, there may be a very fast train or high-speed rail. But until then, surely we can achieve a reasonably fast train.
