Victoria needs a new plan for settlement based on high speed rail connections to regional cities
The High Speed Rail Authority has started looking at the business case for high speed rail between Sydney and Newcastle. It is throwing up serious questions about settlement and transport within the state. Questions like where stations should go (which drives settlement patterns), where stabling facilities should go (essential infrastructure with a large industrial footprint), and how it should interconnect with other rail and transport services.
The success of this first section will depend very heavily on the public’s acceptance and the economic benefits of these decisions. Most importantly, the decisions need to establish a balance between the immediate needs for the business case and long-term needs for the future of NSW.
Victoria will face a similar dilemma if it does not take action now. It needs to enshrine the future HSR route, the regional stations, train stabling and, very importantly, the location of a Melbourne HSR Terminus. These transport and land use planning decisions need to provide for optimal connectivity within the state and with Melbourne’s metropolitan transport systems.
The HSR terminus in Melbourne should be planned to be located to provide optimal passenger connectivity with the existing City Loop, the soon-to-be delivered Metro Tunnel and the propose Airport Rail. It also needs to consider how it fits with the Suburban Rail Loop and any future projects such as the proposed MM2 metro line. Options that might be considered include Town Hall Station and State Library Station in addition to Southern Cross Station.
Based on a decision on the location of the Melbourne HSR Terminus, the above-ground corridors and tunnelling routes into Melbourne should be imbedded in all transport and land use planning documents. There have been many potential HSR corridors into Melbourne suggested in previous public and private studies. The key, from a HSR perspective, is the need for a direct and fast entry into Melbourne CBD (rather than the circuitous and slow route via Sunshine), and the need for a northern HSR Melbourne station with east-west links to Melbourne Airport and to the suburban rail lines to northern Melbourne.
Selection of the preferred HSR corridor needs to consider how to maximise the economic impacts of high speed rail. This includes where stations will be located and how station precincts will be developed. International experience suggests that diverting trains off the HSR line to stop at existing central stations is the most effective way to activate the economy of regional cities. This means plans need to be in place to upgrade the stations, integrate it with city, and develop more intense apartment and commercial development in its vicinity.
Planning the inter-connection of high speed rail with regional rail and coach services is also critical. It is proven that seamless connections between services has an exponential benefit. More travellers are attracted to use inter-connected networks, which will drive up patronage for both the HSR and regional services, spreading the economic benefits beyond the immediate rail corridor.
Similarly the implications for freight services need to be considered. The HSR corridor will have capacity to carry container freight at night, and can support specialised fast freight services during the day. This will need long-term planning and commitment by the government and the freight industry to determine how it will work. In particular it should address the roles and future needs of both the Beveridge and Western Intermodal Freight Terminals.
The Victorian Government has a window of opportunity to address how to capture the future economic, social and environmental benefits of high speed rail. Getting it right will maximise its benefits for all Victorians, now and in the future. But as a long-term project, the Government must ensure the planned route, station and infrastructure locations, and inter-connecting transport systems are enshrined in all its transport and land use planning documents.
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