rail line is justified on capacity grounds alone. In an ideal world, the airport rail link from Southern Cross to Tullamarine would be the 'down payment' on a Sydney -- Melbourne high speed rail corridor, but operated with dedicated medium-speed (160-200km/h) rolling stock optimised for airport travel. It should be constructed on a wholly new alignment separated from the suburban and ARTC freight networks and engineered to HSR standards enabling quick retrofitting for HSR operations. It would cost a lot of money, but as the Federal Government report into HSR outlined, the access to the cores of Sydney and Melbourne (and Brisbane) would be the largest cost element. The Victorian DOT shouldn't be let anywhere near station costing. I've brought it up a few times on this blog Alan and I'm yet to have had any reply on the matter. How is Western Australia (where Labor costs are higher than Victoria) able to continuously build stations and rail projects at a fraction of the cost of Victoria? The 'New MetroRail' project is a shining example here. Look at what Perth was able to get for $1.66billion and imagine how much it might cost in Victoria considering individual, above ground stations are now being built for $110mllion . I can't find article at the moment but I remember reading an article on a new railway station for Western Australia that seemed to have similar functionality (ramps, an overpass, etc) off the top of my head I believe it cost $17million. a