Crisis talks between the State Rail Authority and the National Australia Bank were under way last night after the Airport Link Corporation failed to meet a monthly payment last Wednesday - barely six months after the line opened in a blaze of publicity. But it has struggled to reach even a quarter of the original forecasts, averaging just 12,500 passengers a day last month.
Critics blame ticket price as the main deterrent.
Last night, neither the SRA nor the company would comment on the detail except to confirm a loan default and to say negotiations for a possible rescue package were under way. The SRA has rejected the claims. But investigations by the Herald have revealed that the financial agreement, negotiated by the Fahey government and signed a month before the 1995 State election, left taxpayers exposed if either the company or the SRA defaulted on the agreement. A worse scenario is if the SRA is found to have defaulted on the agreement, as the ALC claims.