Study starts on regional high speed rail gains
by Rail Express — last modified Dec 21, 2011 12:17 PM
— filed under: Weekly Top Stories, Rail
The Australasian Railway Association’s (ARA) launch of a study that will examine the economic and social benefits of high speed rail for regional Australia is a major boost in strengthening the case for an East Coast high speed rail network. |
Courtesy GRMS Media
The study follows the Federal Government’s announcement earlier this month that it had chosen AECOM to head up the second and final stage of the government’s study into the economic merits and financial viability of an East Coast high speed rail network.
The ARA’s study, to be conducted in conjunction with the University of Sydney’s Institute of Transport and Logistics, will assess the potential economic and social benefits of a high speed rail service on affected regional areas, particularly between Sydney and Melbourne via Canberra.
ARA chief executive Bryan Nye explained the study’s main focus will be to identify the wider economic impacts of high speed rail for regional centres including the Southern Highlands, Goulbourn, Wagga Wagga and VAlbury-Wodonga.
“Experience around the globe shows that social and economic enhancement in regional areas is a direct benefit of high speed rail,” Nye said.
“These economic impacts include improved access to jobs and work-related activities as well as the reduction in social exclusion and the increase in tourism.”
The study will assess the extent to which high-speed rail, when added to the existing mix of available services to each Local Government Area, will deliver additional wider economic and social benefits expressed as a proportion of real Gross Domestic Product.
It will also outline the impact of high-speed rail on land values.
A similar study conducted by KPMG in the United Kingdom shows that a comprehensive national network of high speed rail could provide significant changes in business-to-business connectivity as well as effectively linking core cities and regional centres.
Nye said KPMG’s study also makes clear that high speed rail can create an additional 25,000-45,000 jobs in Britain, as more productive businesses offer higher wages and attract people into the labour market.
“High speed rail can also help spread prosperity outside the productive areas of the South East and London and contribute to closing the economic divide. It’s about greater accessibility and social equity,” he said.
The ARA believes that the positive results from the study will help boost the case for high speed rail in Australia.
It is envisaged that the study will complete in March 2013.
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