Background
The 2017 Federal Budget included a commitment by the Australian Government to investigate improvements to the rail connections between Australian Capital cities and surrounding regional areas through $20 million in funding to support the development of up to three faster rail business cases. Three proponents were shortlisted to prepare project proposals/business cases for the Australian Government’s consideration and decision.
NineSquared’s role
The Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities engaged Steve Richards of NineSquared to undertake desktop research and provide summary analysis about international examples of fast/faster/higher-speed passenger train networks.
Specifically, this research task focussed primarily on trains that commonly operate at speeds of between 100 km/h and 250 km/h in regional areas of nations and took into account the complementary role of full-specification High Speed Rail/Very Fast Train technology as part of the broader transport systems.
The research report looked at networks for fast/faster and higher-speed rail operating in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia and summarised a range of information (where available) including rail network/system characteristics, technical information on the relevant rail technology and rolling stock, interaction/competition with other transport modes, major manufacturers, products and customers, and industry opportunities and challenges.
Results & Relevance
Our research report for the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities was instrumental in helping to inform the view of the Australian Government’s approach to the current business cases being prepared for faster rail proposals.
