Calls for a high speed rail to come through Gippsland have persisted, with local councils calling on state and federal governments to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on the proposed route.
As part of ongoing attempts to see the proposed Melbourne to Sydney high speed rail service re-diverted through Gippsland, from its currently preferred route through the Hume region, Gippsland Local Government Network chair Richard Ellis said the initial decision to ignore East Victoria based on track construction costs was premature.
“The estimated track length from Melbourne to Sydney via the Gippsland alignment is 950km with an estimated cost of $53.2 billion, only 6.6 per cent more than the currently preferred Hume region route,” Cr Ellis said.
“While costs are higher than the preferred Hume option, the benefits are also higher.
“High speed rail through Gippsland would ease traffic congestion on the existing Melbourne east-west transport corridor and also make it possible to retire V/line services to Gippsland, utilising freed up track capacity for freight services.”
The renewed call comes after Committee for Gippsland made a recent submission to the Federal Government on similar cost benefit grounds.
However in response to C4G’s submission, Deputy Premier Peter Ryan, while applauding the visionary ambition of local lobby groups to see high speed rail come through Gippsland, said they needed to be “realistic” about economic realities.
