A high-speed rail proposal was last night described as ‘pie in the sky’ but still received backing from a majority of Lismore city councillors.
Cr Simon Clough had put forward a motion to write to the Prime Minister Tony Abbott and relevant ministers supporting the proposal, which is detailed in a report by a German company and its Australian partners.
Cr Clough said the project, estimated to cost $84 billion, would link Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, as well as regional areas including Lismore.
‘Lismore would be the third stop from Brisbane and it would open a wide range of opportunities for this city’, he said.
‘The proposed station would be near the showgrounds and the thing that appeals to me is the renewable energy aspect of it.’
‘It could be built in ten years’, he said.
The high-speed rail project is a collaboration between the German Aerospace Centre, the Beyond Zero Emissions group and the University of Melbourne’s energy research institute.
The proposed high-speed rail network could be powered by 100-per-cent renewable energy, according to the report.
But not all councillors were convinced.
Cr Greg Bennett questioned where the money would come from, while Cr Neil Marks described it as ‘pie in the sky’ because the number of passengers required to make it viable would not be available.
Cr Marks also questioned whether such a railway could be built in the region, saying a tunnel would need to be built through the great dividing range.
‘It’s just not going to come to our area because it needs flat ground’, he said.
‘We have to be real as a council and realise we only have a minute say in this, and I just think we’re dreaming’, he said.
Although she supported the motion, Greens councillor Vanessa Ekins raised concerns about the impact on the environment as a result of the construction of tunnels and viaducts.
She said $84 billion would ‘plant a lot of trees and forests’.
Cr Graham Meineke said he also had concerns for the environment and questioned whether passenger numbers projected in the report were sufficient to make the project viable.
Cr Isaac Smith, who was elected last night as Lismore’s new deputy mayor, said however that the project would be good for Lismore.
Cr Smith said if Lismore was to become a regional station for a high speed rail, an increase in visitor numbers would add to the argument for the introduction of light rail services for the region.
Cr Clough, in speaking to his motion, pointed out that Japan’s Tokyo to Osaka high speed rail service had been operating for 50 years yet the fastest train in Australia would barely reach 100 kilometres per hour.
He also pointed to the projected 150 million tonnes less carbon pollution going into the atmosphere as passengers chose rail over planes.
‘The other thing is road safety. As Cr (Glenys) Ritchie pointed out keeping people off our roads is a huge benefit’, he said.
All councillors supported the motion except Crs Neil Marks, Graham Meineke, Mathew Scheibel and Greg Bennett.
All power to Cr Simon Clough and the Lismore councillors who are able to see the benefit to the region, and the country, of a High Speed Rail system which could mean 150 tonnes less carbon going into the atmosphere. How anyone could believe that the construction of HSR would be anywhere near as damaging to the environment and our communities as that we’ve witnessed during the construction of the Pacific Hwy, is mind boggling. Huge swathes of beautiful, rich soil are being bulldozed through the countryside, and people’s backyards, where we should be growing food. Let alone the carbon emissions from the vehicles who will be using it-until the oil runs out-what then?
Given the cost and availability of oil, governments, who are currently being run by the powerful road lobby via huge donations, will be forced to back HSR as airlines are losing bucket loads money and cheap fares are unsustainable.
It’s imperative that the Casino to Murwillumbah rail line be restored for local trains to connect our communities to the HSR. It’s incomprehensible that an area which is a major national and international tourist destination has little or no public transport.
YES, YES, YES, Bring the train to Murwillumbah & up to Coolangatta -, we so desperately need people with vision & forsight in our community & political parties.
Thinking in increments of 4 years at a time is so small minded.
Better back off any ludicrous plans to rip up the local rail line then. How silly would we look if the fast train does get up in the next couple of decades and all we have left of our rail line is a few disused cycle ways.
I wonder how much pollution is generated from all the steel used to build those tracks and then maintain them. Maintenance is heavy on fast trains and steel takes some serious heat to manipulate.
Furthermore, the local train is long gone with bridges now being ripped out all over the place and the project is not even funded.
Where is the government going to get so many billions of dollars from?
Our wonderful governments are wasting billions of our money all the time-no one seems to notice. 100 year old bridges have to be rebuilt-seems there’s no problem building numerous huge bridges for the Pacific Hwy upgrade-what about that cost-now and into the future. It certainly won’t pay for itself. What happens when the oil runs our? Though most likely we’ll all fry due to climate change before then.
We need to get with 21st technology which will not only reduce carbon emissions by 100 tonnes, but provide 21st century transport for locals and the 5m national and international visitors to the region. As they’ve been doing in other counties for over 50 years.
Then there’s the small problem of airlines losing buckets of money, or going broke, due partly to the rising cost of fuel. Cheap airfares are unsustainable. Governments are going to be forced to build HSR to keep our economy going..
Dear All,
Firstly, Beyond Zero emissions is ONLY a think tank. As such, their grasp of finance and estimates of cost are highly questionable. Secondly, supporters of the HSR need to read the whole report that was previously released by the Government. Their estimates were $114billion at 2012 prices. Which does not include the rolling stock (locomotives and carriages). Governments are not known for getting their pricing correct either. Has anyone ever seen a govt project come in on budget? In case no one has noticed, $114billion is an awful lot of money. And why should people from anywhere / every where except the immediate vicinity of the HSR have to pay (taxes) to finance the project? Also we do not and never will have the population to support / justify a HSR.
There are other things too. The travel times quoted will never be attained. Every time the train stops it destroys average times. The HSR is OLD technology. Steel on steel – noise for miles around the tracks.
Lastly, people in Australia do not catch trains. There are no profitable train lines in Australia. And never will be. Read the report.