page_title: High-speed rail in Australia
section_title: 1984 CSIRO proposal
hierarchical_section_title: High-speed rail in Australia / History / 1984 CSIRO proposal
caption_attribution_description: English: Colour photograph of man (Dr Paul Wild) in dark jacket, grey trousers, shirt and tie standing on track in front of French TGV high-speed train.
context_page_description: High-speed rail in Australia has been under investigation since the early 1980s. Every Federal Government since this time has investigated the feasibility of constructing high speed rail, but to date nothing has ever gone beyond the detailed planning stage. The most commonly suggested route is between Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which is the world's second busiest air corridor. Various corridors have been proposed for a potential high-speed line.
  The Australian rail speed record of 210 km/h was set by Queensland Rail's Electric Tilt Train during a trial run in 1998. This speed is just above the internationally accepted definition of high-speed rail of 200 km/h. The Transwa WDA/WDB/WDC class, V/Line VLocity and XPT are capable of 210 km/h. However, these trains, as well as the V/Line VLocity and Diesel Tilt Train, operate at a high of 160 km/h in passenger service.
context_section_description: The first true high-speed rail proposal was presented to the Hawke Government in June 1984 by the CSIRO, spearheaded by its chairman, Dr Paul Wild. The proposal was to link Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney via a coastal corridor, based on French TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) technology. The proposal estimated construction costs at A$2.5 billion ($7.0 billion in 2013), with initial revenue of A$150 million per annum exceeding operating costs of A$50 million per annum. The proposal attracted much public and media attention, as well as some private sector capital for feasibility studies.
  In September 1984, the Bureau of Transport Economics found that the probable construction costs had been underestimated by A$1.5 billion, and the proposal would therefore be uneconomic. The Minister for Transport, Peter Morris, rejected the proposal.
caption: Paul Wild on track in front of a TGV, France, 1989
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.4.1", "Image DateTime": "2008:06:15 20:44:03", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.4.9", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "202", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "362", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6386", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1725", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1176"}