Fab news on the setting up of a national fast rail organisation which is not state based which hopefully would lead to better outcomes and less work overruns and dates slipping as they do in Victoria.

I am keen to understand if this agency would also be responsible for the procurement of rolling stock and also rail network operation?  if so then might we start to see the emergence of a national passenger rail operator.

Melbourne to Geelong fast rail a step closer with establishment of National Faster Rail Agency

Beyond me why you would think another bureaucracy in a jurisdiction with absolutely zero experience of passenger rail projects would improve outcomes at all.

Far more likely is they act as an institutional “heavy” for the federal government so it gets its own political way in states like Victoria and NSW.

Faster than what? Bullet train?

I would consider the establishment of the new department vital to the delivery of HST between the capitals and including the smaller projects like Geelong to Melbourne and Brisbane to the north or even Canberra to Sydney.  They will hire the right engineers and probably rely on ARTC for some of the engineering work.

If you consider the state of interstate passenger services in Australia and compare those to other countries like Amtrak and Cross border services in Europe there is a big gap.

Surely this will be led by the Nation Building Authority?

Surely it will appear on the ABC later this year?

Fab news on the setting up of a national fast rail organisation which is not state based which hopefully would lead to better outcomes and less work overruns and dates slipping as they do in Victoria.

I am keen to understand if this agency would also be responsible for the procurement of rolling stock and also rail network operation?  if so then might we start to see the emergence of a national passenger rail operator.

Melbourne to Geelong fast rail a step closer with establishment of National Faster Rail Agency

A little bit of analysis would not go amiss Bevans instead of just parroting the headlines of a paper that slavishly supported the re-election of the Morrison Government. You have no idea who the Chairperson will be or the composition of this agency but you already think that is a good idea even given the atrocious record that successive Federal Governments has had in regards to rail.

Less work overruns and dates slipping as they do in Victoria.

Mate the feds aren't doing a great job with the Inland Rail project. Technically speaking that is a really simple project and it is struggling. And the ARTC, the Government Rail Agency is finding it hard to deliver a rail corridor to Albury capable of handling trains that travel at 130 km/h!!! Do you honestly believe that the Federal Government will have a hope in hell of delivering High Speed rail anywhere in Australia, which from an engineering and operational standpoint is infinitely more difficult.

National Faster Rail Agency (NFRA). From a National viewpoint the acronym might as well be FART (F All Rail Transit).

Michael

God help us if the ARTC are in charge of a vhst. They can't even get there current tracks nice and flat so how the heck are they going to maintain a track to the quality of vhst to allow faster then 160km/h speeds.

If you consider the National Fast Rail Agency is involved in the Geelong Fast Rail proposal and delivery then why not the same for the fast rail proposal released today for Orange, Nowra etc.  

Perhaps the Feds are not convinced it is viable?

The department should really look after all fast rail proposals.

https://youtu.be/n1TMpXhwcQw

They've beaten the Government to it.....