Claim: The announcement of the proposal (presented to a federal parliamentary committee) revealed that the preferred transport option was a maglev system, able to reach Shepparton from Melbourne in 30 minutes and Sydney in under two hours, however, financial details of the plan were not released, with the company's directors describing the complete funding model as commercial-in-confidence.
Evidence: The CLARA plan was officially launched in Melbourne on 13 July, with chairman Nick Cleary announcing that deals had been finalised for the purchase of land on which to situate 8 new railway stations and greenfield property developments, following 12 months of negotiations. The announcement followed discussions with officials from the Victorian and NSW governments conducted throughout April. At the event, former Premier of New South Wales Barry O'Farrell and former Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks spoke in favour of the proposal, revealing that the project was backed by former American infrastructure planners. The announcement of the proposal also revealed that the preferred transport option was a maglev system, able to reach Shepparton from Melbourne in 30 minutes, and Sydney in under two hours. However, financial details of the plan were not released, with the company's directors describing the complete funding model as commercial-in-confidence. Later that month, the CLARA proposal was presented to a federal parliamentary committee (chaired by John Alexander) alongside a competing Hyperloop One proposal, which differed substantially from the CLARA model by gearing its service towards existing regional centres.