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High-speed rail plans may finally end Australia’s 40-year wait to get on board

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/philip-laird-3503">Philip Laird</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> Australia has debated and studied high-speed rail for four decades. The High Speed Rail Authority has begun <a href="https://www.hsra.gov.au/project">work on a project</a> that could finally deliver some high-speed rail in the 2030s. The Albanese government set up the authority in 2022. It also committed A$500 million to plan and protect a high-speed rail corridor between Sydney and Newcastle. This corridor was prioritised due to significant capacity constraints on the existing line, among other reasons. The ultimate plan is for a high-speed rail network to connect Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and regional communities across the east coast. The network would help Australia in its urgent task to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport. These <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/towards-net-zero-transport-and-infrastructure">continue to increase</a> even as emissions from other sectors fall. The authority has now publicly outlined plans for the first stage of this east coast network. After a history of failed proposals dating back to 1984, the new plans provide some cause for optimism that Australia could have some high-speed rail by 2037. <h2>What is high-speed rail and why do we need it?</h2> The International Rail Union of Railways <a href="https://uic.org/passenger/highspeed">defines high-speed rail</a> as new lines designed for speeds of 250km/h or more and upgraded lines for speeds of at least 200km/h. High-speed rail could greatly reduce transport emissions by replacing <a href="https://theconversation.com/wondering-how-to-get-from-brisbane-to-melbourne-without-wrecking-the-climate-our-transport-choices-make-a-huge-difference-237396">air travel in particular</a>. For example, the <a href="https://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/domestic_airline_activity-monthly_publications">7.92 million passengers</a> flying between Melbourne and Sydney in 2023-24 produced about 1.5 million tonnes of emissions. Including <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-air-travellers-can-cut-their-door-to-door-emissions-right-now-by-as-much-as-13-on-the-sydney-melbourne-route-211099">travel to and from airports</a> and other flight routes along the corridor (Sydney or Melbourne to Canberra, Albury etc), this adds up to about 2% of <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/strategies/annual-climate-change-statement-2023">annual domestic transport emissions</a>. A Sydney–Melbourne high-speed rail link could cut emissions to a fraction of those from <a href="https://theconversation.com/wondering-how-to-get-from-brisbane-to-melbourne-without-wrecking-the-climate-our-transport-choices-make-a-huge-difference-237396">air</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-compared-land-transport-options-for-getting-to-net-zero-hands-down-electric-rail-is-the-best-234092">road</a> transport. If Australia is to achieve <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/emissions-reduction/net-zero">net zero by 2050</a>, a <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-compared-land-transport-options-for-getting-to-net-zero-hands-down-electric-rail-is-the-best-234092">shift to rail will be essential</a>. High-speed city-to-city rail services will be needed to become an attractive alternative to air travel. <h2>What is the authority working on?</h2> Early this year the High Speed Rail Authority gained a new CEO, Tim Parker, with extensive experience in delivering mega-projects. In late August, the authority outlined its plans at an industry briefing in Newcastle. The authority has commissioned eight studies, including a business case for a Sydney–Newcastle line. Significantly, it will include the cost of future highway upgrades if high-speed rail does not proceed. This study, along with a report on how high-speed rail will proceed along Australia’s east coast, is due by the end of this year. Also under way is a <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/c-king/media-release/all-aboard-high-speed-rail-accelerates-first-investigation-works">geotechnical study</a> that includes drilling 27 boreholes. It will help determine the proposed depths of two long rail tunnels and guide decisions on crossing the Hawkesbury River and the route to the Central Coast and on to Newcastle. All going well, including land acquisition and agreements with the New South Wales government (which could include funding), work could <a href="https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/8743698/newcastle-high-speed-rail-possible-by-2037-as-tunnel-plan-emerges">start in 2027 and be completed by 2037</a>. <h2>Many questions remain</h2> Given the time and money required to deliver a Sydney–Newcastle line, bipartisan support will be needed. However, the federal opposition is yet to make a clear commitment to high-speed rail. There are other uncertainties too. Will the trains be operated by the public or private sector? The latter was the intention for projects that were scrapped decades ago, such as the CSIRO-proposed Very Fast Train (<a href="http://www.repositoryofideas.com/VFT_information.html">VFT</a>) linking Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, and the Sydney–Canberra <a href="https://trid.trb.org/View/1203853">Speedrail</a>. And how will the engineering projects be delivered? The new authority must learn from the project management <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/media/news/independent-review-inland-rail-released">problems in delivering the Inland Rail</a> freight line. The project is running late and costs have blown out. Some major federally funded government projects have worked well. These include upgrades of the national highway system (by state road authorities and contractors) and the new <a href="https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/">Western Sydney International Airport</a>, which is nearing completion. <h2>And what about a full Sydney–Melbourne line?</h2> The big question is when work will start on a Sydney–Melbourne high-speed rail service. In 2019, International High-Speed Rail Association chairman <a href="https://ara.net.au/media-release/ausrailplus-2019-conference-exhibition-3-5-december-2019-in-sydney/">Masafumi Shukuri estimated</a> building this line could take 20 years. The present line is 60km longer than it should be as the route dates back to the steam age. It also has far too many tight curves. This means train travel on this line is slower than cars and trucks. As former NSW State Rail chief Len Harper <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-ever-its-time-to-upgrade-the-sydney-melbourne-railway-187169">said</a> in 1995, this railway was already “inadequate for current and future needs” even back then. When the VFT was proposed in 1984, questions were raised as to whether our population was big enough for such a project. Now, more than 15.5 million people live in NSW, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Melbourne–Sydney is the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/travel-news/the-world-s-busiest-flight-routes-and-airports-revealed-20231222-p5et7n.html">world’s fifth-busiest flight route</a>. Advocacy group Fastrack Australia <a href="https://www.fastrackaustralia.net/hsr-implementation-plan">has called</a> for a Sydney–Melbourne track built to high-speed standards and able to carry freight. The estimated travel time is four hours. This group and the <a href="https://www.railfutures.org.au/category/submissions/%20July%202024%20reducing%20emissions%20in%20freight">Rail Futures Institute</a> propose the line be built in stages, with priority given to the section from near Macarthur to Mittagong in NSW. This would reduce the current line’s length by about 18km and allow for better Sydney–Canberra train services. Urgent action is needed to protect the rail corridor from encroaching urban development. <h2>Australia needs to catch up</h2> In June 2023, when the new authority started work, I <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-the-new-high-speed-rail-authority-deliver-after-4-decades-of-costly-studies-206287">observed</a> that Australia must surely hold the world record for studies into high-speed rail with no construction. In stark contrast, this October marks the 60th anniversary of the world’s first dedicated high-speed rail line, the Tokaido Shinkansen in Japan linking Tokyo to Shin-Osaka. The network has since grown in stages to about 3,000km of lines. Today, high-speed rail <a href="https://uic.org/passenger/highspeed/article/high-speed-data-and-atlas">operates in 21 countries</a> over about 60,000km of lines – China has about 40,000km. Indonesia’s high-speed rail service between Jakarta and Bandung started running last year. India and Thailand are in the advanced stages of delivering high-speed rail. It’s also under construction in another 11 countries. Australia could finally join them in the next few years if it starts building the Sydney–Newcastle line.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/238232/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/philip-laird-3503">Philip Laird</a>, Honorary Principal Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/high-speed-rail-plans-may-finally-end-australias-40-year-wait-to-get-on-board-238232">original article</a>. </div>

Domestic Travel

Teen struck in fatal tram tragedy identified

The teenage girl who died after becoming trapped under a tram in Sydney’s CBD has been identified. Kyra Dulguime, 16, was killed while climbing through two tram carriages in the early hours of the morning on May 11. Emergency services were called to the light rail stop at Haymarket shortly after midnight following reports of a teen being struck by a tram. Police found the 16-year-old girl trapped under the tram with critical injuries. NSW Police told 7News that the girl was attempting to climb through the exterior link which connects one carriage to another. Police said once the tram began moving away from the Goulburn Street intersection, the teenager became trapped. The girl is thought to have been dragged over 200 metres while her friend screamed for help, alerting the driver to stop at the light rail station in China Town. Tributes have flown for the young girl following her tragic death, with her friends placing messages and flowers near the scene of the tragedy. They were seen embracing each other and lighting candles in Kyra’s memory as commuters passed by. “I love you and i missed you our beautiful angel Kyra Dulguime we will missed you so much…” one wrote on Facebook. “Rest in peace in the arms of our lord and may the perpetual light shine upon you.” Witnesses told Nine News the teenage girl was attempting to cross George Street by jumping through the gap between two carriages before she became trapped underneath. “We were screaming, ‘help her, help her,’ so the police and paramedic rushed to the spot,” one man said. Mohammed Aqil Abdulla, 29, was working the night shift at TSG Tobacco Station near the Chinatown light rail stop when he heard deafening screams. “The tram dragged her from the lights to the next platform, roughly 200metres,” he told Daily Mail Australia. “She was stuck in between the compartments.” Mr Abdulla said he had heard the girl had attempted to cross between carriages while the tram was stationary at traffic lights. “She wanted to jump from the other side, but suddenly the light changed, and she was stuck in between,” he said. “The driver wouldn't have seen her.” “Witnesses were screaming "Help her! Help her!". The police and paramedics rushed to the spot, but I think she was dead on the spot.” “She was just 16. I feel sorry for her family, it's so sad.” He added. Another witness said the girl was with a friend when she was struck and that other passengers on the tram had tried to help her. A police rescue crew and Fire and Rescue NSW worked to free the girl. Paramedics treated her immediately but she died at the scene. NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry described the incident as a “difficult and tragic situation” for firefighters who rushed to the scene. “On arrival, paramedics were on scene assessing and treating the casualty who was trapped underneath this light rail carriage. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done,” he told reporters. “Firefighters and police rescue teams under the guidance of tram engineers used hydraulic lifting rams and high pressure air bags to lift the 10 tonne carriage and remove the 16-year-old’s body." The 52-year-old male tram driver was taken to hospital for mandatory testing. It was established as a crime scene and investigation is now underway. Light rail services between Central and Circular Quay were halted throughout the morning while investigators combed the scene. The tram has since been removed and regular timetables resumed as of 6am that day. “Everyone at Transport for NSW is saddened by the death of a teenage girl at a light rail stop in central Sydney overnight,” Transport for NSW Secretary Howard Collins said. “We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and loved ones. "We thank emergency services, staff and anyone who rendered assistance for their efforts last night and we will provide our staff with the support they need.” Image credit: Facebook/Sunrise

Caring

Southampton to Shanghai by train – one climate change researcher’s quest to avoid flying

Academics travel a lot. Whether for fieldwork or conferences, we’re often <a href="https://theconversation.com/university-sector-must-tackle-air-travel-emissions-118929">encouraged</a> to do it. Often internationally, invariably by aeroplane. But while globetrotting might make us feel important, a recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652619311862">study</a> suggests there’s no connection between academic air-miles and career advancement. With the obvious realities of the climate crisis, and with air travel being the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-wake-up-to-the-devastating-impact-flying-has-on-the-environment-70953">single quickest</a> way an average person can contribute to climate change, some academics are trying to stay on the ground whenever possible. Within a broader <a href="https://www.flightfree.co.uk/">campaign</a> to encourage people to go “flight-free”, there’s a community of <a href="https://academicflyingblog.wordpress.com/">academics</a> challenging the reliance on flying that’s typically sat uneasily at the heart of their careers. I’m a member of that community. I pledged not to fly in 2019 and 2020, and then won a fellowship to study Chinese attitudes to sustainability which required me to go to China for fieldwork. Suddenly, the consequences of my pledge became very real. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285327/original/file-20190723-110154-1grcjbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285327/original/file-20190723-110154-1grcjbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285327/original/file-20190723-110154-1grcjbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285327/original/file-20190723-110154-1grcjbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285327/original/file-20190723-110154-1grcjbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285327/original/file-20190723-110154-1grcjbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285327/original/file-20190723-110154-1grcjbv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>Not only do planes release a lot of CO₂ during flight, the white ‘contrails’ they leave behind warm the atmosphere further. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/passenger-airplanes-on-air-busy-traffic-1089042554?src=lgi_phsJCpzeLwXItWfMbw-1-17&studio=1">FotoHelin/Shutterstock</a></figcaption></figure> Life on the rails When I told my managers that I intended to get to China by train, I was met with a mixture of responses. Some thought I was mad, some admired my principles, some thought I was an awkward bugger. Maybe they were all right. In any case, what I was doing had certainly created more work for myself. I began trying to convince senior staff to release funds from my research budget to arrange visas, and thinking through the nitty-gritty of a trip across Europe, Russia and a big chunk of China itself. The cost of the trains was over £2,000, dwarfing the £700 I could pay for a London to Beijing return flight. Time-wise, the train trip took just under two weeks each way. But in terms of carbon emissions my trip was a steal, contributing <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conversion-factors-2019">just 10%</a> of the emissions of the equivalent flights. The cost, complexity and discomfort of such a long solo trip did occasionally make me wonder if it wouldn’t just be easier to fly (answer: it would). But I was determined to honour my pledge and show other academics – by my own extreme example – that it is possible to do international work without flights. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285316/original/file-20190723-110175-szuvp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285316/original/file-20190723-110175-szuvp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285316/original/file-20190723-110175-szuvp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285316/original/file-20190723-110175-szuvp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285316/original/file-20190723-110175-szuvp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285316/original/file-20190723-110175-szuvp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285316/original/file-20190723-110175-szuvp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>The author meets a train guard in Siberia. Roger Tyers, Author provided</figcaption></figure> Considering it involved 21 train connections, my journey went surprisingly smoothly. I took a series of “short” trips from Southampton, changing in London, Brussels, Cologne, Berlin and then onto my first sleeper train from Warsaw to Kiev (avoiding Belarus which would have required another visa). My first experience on the Kiev-bound, Soviet-style sleeper train was something of a shock. Unsure of the etiquette when sharing a tiny cabin with two or three others with limited English, I soon learned that body language, Google translate and sharing food breaks the ice. Luckily, my no-flying trip was a recurring source of conversation, fascination and bafflement for many of my fellow travellers. After one night in Kiev, I took another overnight train to Moscow. Russia was something of a test – on my return journey I travelled 2,600 miles between Irkutsk and Moscow, spending 90 hours on a single train. Had this not been a work trip, I would have gladly stopped more often. Making friends with fellow passengers – mainly Russians on work trips or family visits, or European and Chinese tourists doing the bucket list Trans-Siberian route – certainly helped pass the time. The Siberian scenery – millions of trees on a seemingly endless loop – became somewhat repetitive, but the monotony afforded me time to read, write, plan and contemplate. The most spectacular journey was the Trans-Mongolian section, passing the edge of Lake Baikal, the world’s largest lake rimmed with snow-capped mountains, over the green steppes of northern Mongolia, across the Gobi desert, and finally through the mountainous valleys encircling Beijing. It’s hard not to be awed and inspired that these train lines exist in such remote parts of our planet. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285302/original/file-20190723-110154-qqgn2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1003%2C1003&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285302/original/file-20190723-110154-qqgn2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1003%2C1003&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285302/original/file-20190723-110154-qqgn2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285302/original/file-20190723-110154-qqgn2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285302/original/file-20190723-110154-qqgn2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285302/original/file-20190723-110154-qqgn2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285302/original/file-20190723-110154-qqgn2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285302/original/file-20190723-110154-qqgn2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>The track stretches for miles across the Mongolian plains. Roger Tyers, Author provided</figcaption></figure> Calling at Beijing China now has more high-speed railways than the rest of the world combined, and they do it in style. Beijing to Shanghai, a trip covering 1,300km, takes less than four and a half hours, with a solid internet connection throughout and the most legroom I enjoyed on any of my trips. The downer is that China’s electrified trains will, <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-wrestles-with-insecure-gas-supplies-but-stays-strong-on-longer-term-plan-for-renewables-117445">like most of their electricity</a>, be powered by coal. But on the upside, these trains are likely to take passengers off domestic flights – a lesson for Europe and the US. I enjoyed using them to visit my other field sites in Hangzhou and Ningbo before finally retracing my steps back, over 6,000 miles to the UK, clutching a load of new data, a heap of memories, and a sore back. The focus group data I collected in China, with members of their urban middle classes, has enforced my view that both ‘bottom-up’ social and cultural pressure, as well as “top-down” infrastructure and fiscal policy will be required in any country facing up the complex challenges of climate change. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285360/original/file-20190723-110162-1jhj505.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285360/original/file-20190723-110162-1jhj505.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285360/original/file-20190723-110162-1jhj505.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285360/original/file-20190723-110162-1jhj505.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285360/original/file-20190723-110162-1jhj505.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285360/original/file-20190723-110162-1jhj505.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285360/original/file-20190723-110162-1jhj505.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>The author at the end of his outward journey in Tiananmen Square. Roger Tyers, Author provided</figcaption></figure> I admit that my story is somewhat privileged – not everyone can take the train to China for work, and I doubt I’ll make a habit of it. Much depends on geography too. The UK is relatively well connected by surface transport options like rail, but many still fly - the UK has the <a href="https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2018-10-24-02.aspx">third largest</a> air passenger market, behind only the US and China. The bigger policy goal is to make train tickets less expensive relative to flights. In the meantime, academics can play a leadership role, both individually and <a href="https://theconversation.com/researchers-set-an-example-fly-less-111046">institutionally</a>. Universities could consider publishing records of staff flights, building low-carbon travel modes into grant proposals by default, and making videoconferencing facilities fantastic. Recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652619311862">research</a> has shown, unsurprisingly, that climate researchers are taken more seriously if they practise what they preach. If we can lead by example in reducing our own flying carbon footprints while still conducting great research, then others – students, policymakers and other professionals – are far more likely to take notice. Writen by Roger Tyers. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/southampton-to-shanghai-by-train-one-climate-change-researchers-quest-to-avoid-flying-120015" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

International Travel

More than ever, it’s time to upgrade the Sydney–Melbourne railway

It’s 14 years since former NSW rail chief Len Harper <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2232/CORE21_Laird.pdf?1659317321" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described</a> the rail link between Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, as “inadequate for current and future needs”. And it’s 31 years since former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam put the problem more bluntly during a TV interview: <blockquote> there are no cities in the world as close to each other with such large population as Sydney and Melbourne which are linked by so bad a railway. </blockquote> Despite remedial work by the Australian Rail Track Corporation since it leased the NSW section of track, the rail link’s most serious problem – its “steam age” alignment – remains. Is a new, dedicated, high-speed rail link the answer? The Labor government thinks so: among the plans <a href="https://www.gg.gov.au/about-governor-general/media/opening-first-session-forty-seventh-commonwealth-parliament-parliament-house-canberra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flagged</a> last week when Governor-General David Hurley opened parliament was a pledge to begin work on “nation-building projects like high-speed rail”. That vision isn’t new. A high-speed rail link between Sydney and Melbourne – with trains operating at speeds of 250 kilometres per hour or more on their own track – was first proposed in 1984 by CSIRO. Since then, it has been examined in depth no fewer than three times, most recently in a <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/33517" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> released by the Gillard government in 2013. After it lost government, Labor promoted the idea of a High Speed Rail Planning Authority. Infrastructure Australia <a href="https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/map/corridor-preservation-east-coasthigh-speed-rail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added its voice</a> in 2016 with a call for governments to start reserving land for a future high-speed rail link between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The Coalition government preferred a less ambitious option. Its National Faster Rail Agency part-funded numerous studies assessing the viability of lifting speeds on the existing route to between 160 and 250 km per hour. That approach could prove to be the best way forward, at least in the short to medium term. A high-speed link between Sydney and Melbourne might still be built, but it could take 20 years or more to begin operating. In the meantime, faster freight and passenger services are needed between Australia’s two largest cities if we are to meet our commitment to reducing carbon emissions from transport. On average, according to Rail Futures <a href="https://www.railfutures.org.au/2017/07/submission-to-inquiry-into-national-freight-and-supply-chain-priorities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calculations</a>, rail freight is three times more energy efficient than road, and significantly more energy efficient than cars or planes in moving people. <h2>Limitations of the existing line</h2> Why has rail been losing ground to roads? The mainline track between Sydney and Melbourne – about 640 km of it in New South Wales and 320 km in Victoria – has many defects, some of which became <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/feb/24/victoria-train-derailmentdriver-wrote-of-faults-on-line-before-fatal-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more widely known</a> after the fatal derailment of an XPT in Victoria in February 2020. Much of the track within New South Wales has a “steam age” alignment to ease grades, adding an extra 60 km to the journey. Far too many tight-radius curves slow down freight and passenger trains. On the same TV program as Whitlam made that earlier remark, another former state rail chief, Ross Sayers, argued that a tilt train – a train designed to negotiate curves more quickly – could travel at more than 200 km per hour between Sydney and Melbourne on an upgraded alignment. “We could set the passenger transit time at five, or perhaps five and a half hours,” he said. This is still a good, viable option. Five and a half hours would be half the time the current XPT services take. And the gain isn’t purely speculative: when Queensland straightened much of its track between Brisbane and Rockhampton for faster and heavier freight trains – and then, in 1998, introduced a new tilt train – passenger transit time halved from 14 to seven hours. One major improvement to the Sydney–Melbourne line in recent decades was the installation in 2008 of centralised traffic control signalling, which allows for the remote control of points and signals along the track. Why the track between Australia’s two largest cities had to wait so long even for that upgrade, which was essential for efficient train operations, is a good question. New Zealand’s two largest cities, Auckland and Wellington, were linked by such signalling 42 years earlier, in 1966. <h2>The impact on freight and passengers…</h2> Fifty years ago, rail and road held roughly equal shares of the land freight moving between Sydney and Melbourne. Trucks took about 15 hours to traverse a two-lane Hume Highway that was poorly aligned in many places. Mainly with funds from the federal government, the entire Hume Highway was subsequently rebuilt to modern engineering standards at a cost of about $20 billion in today’s terms. Much larger trucks can now move freight between Sydney and Melbourne in ten hours. The pro-road policies don’t end there. Low road-access road pricing for trucks – an <a href="https://theconversation.com/trucks-are-destroying-our-roads-and-not-picking-up-the-repair-cost-79670" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated hidden subsidy</a> of more than $8 per tonne – has combined with the substandard nature of the Sydney–Melbourne rail track to reduce rail’s share of palletised and containerised freight to <a href="https://pacificnational.com.au/australias-major-highway-now-a-conveyor-belt-for-big-trucks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about 1%</a>, according to rail freight operator Pacific National. The consequences include an increased risk of <a href="https://www.southernhighlandnews.com.au/story/7535357/hume-highway-lanes-re-openfollowing-fiery-two-truck-crash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fatal</a><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fatal-crash-near-berrima-when-truck-goes-onwrong-side-of-hume-highway-20171014-gz0yn1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">road crashes</a>, higher highway maintenance costs, pressure for more road upgrades, and increased emissions. A detailed 2001 track audit <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2232/CORE21_Laird.pdf?1659317321" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified</a> how 197 kilometres of new track built to modern engineering standards – including three major deviations from the existing alignment – could bypass 257 km of substandard track. Freight train transit times would then be reduced by nearly two hours. I estimate that if rail were to regain a 50% share of the freight between our two largest cities, emissions would fall by over 300,000 tonnes per annum. In Australia, this is the equivalent of taking about 100,000 cars off the road. As for freight, so for passengers. By 2019, more than nine million passengers were flying each year between Sydney and Melbourne, making this the <a href="https://www.oag.com/hubfs/Free_Reports/Busiest%20Routes/2019/busiest-routes-2019.pdf?hsCtaTracking=ee97d32f-97c9-4625-8a07-481cf63877c5%7C559f8381-6032-446d-9b62-6c16ff1f4bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second-busiest</a> air corridor in the world. Tilt trains on upgraded track would speed the passenger journey appreciably while providing <a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-on-a-slow-track-to-fast-trains-promised-regional-rail-upgrades-are-long-overdue-160932" target="_blank" rel="noopener">long-overdue improvements</a> to rail services between Sydney and regional New South Wales and from Melbourne and Sydney to Canberra. <h2>… and on climate</h2> Along with improving resilience of the track to the impacts of climate change, if Australia is serious about decarbonisation, the effort must extend to transport. A significant portion of road freight and passengers will need to shift to rail. As the International Energy Agency <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> last year, “Rail transport is the most energy efficient and least carbon intensive way to move people and second only to shipping for carrying goods.” The agency also stressed that “aviation growth will need to be constrained by comprehensive government policies that promote a shift towards rail” in order to achieve net-zero emissions. If Australia fails to bring the Sydney–Melbourne track into the 21st century, we can expect not only excessive greenhouse gas emissions but also growing costs from many more trucks on the Hume Highway. Congestion at Melbourne and Sydney airports will worsen, and Australia will be left increasingly out of step with other countries in Europe, North America and Asia. This article originally appeared on The Conversation. Image: Twitter

Travel Trouble

Sydney to Newcastle fast rail makes sense. Making trains locally does not

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/our-policies/sydney-to-hunter-fast-rail">this week announced</a> a commitment to funding high-speed rail between Sydney and Newcastle. At speeds of more than 250km/h, this would cut the 150-minute journey from Sydney to Newcastle to just 45 minutes. Commuting between the two cities would be a lot more feasible. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439624/original/file-20220106-21-19utua0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439624/original/file-20220106-21-19utua0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Proposed route for high-speed Melbourne to Brisbane rail. <a href="https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/map/corridor-preservation-east-coast-high-speed-rail" class="source">Infrastructure Australia</a> The Sydney-Newcastle link would be a first step in a grand plan to link the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane corridor by high-speed rail. Albanese also wants the trains to be built at home, <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/our-policies/sydney-to-hunter-fast-rail">saying</a> “we will look build as much of our fast and high-speed rail future in Australia as is possible”. Of course, this idea has been around for a long time. Nobody has ever got the numbers to stack up before. Federal infrastructure minister Paul Fletcher made the obvious but reasonable point that such a rail link would be very expensive. “It is $200 to $300 billion on any credible estimate,” he <a href="https://newcastleweekly.com.au/coalition-pulls-brakes-on-labors-fast-rail-plans/">said in response</a> to Labor’s announcement. “It has to be paid for, and that means higher taxes”. Or does it? <h2>Social cost-benefit analysis</h2> Traditional cost-benefit analysis is how governments tend to make decisions about big infrastructure projects like this. Figure out the costs (such as $300 billion) and then figure out the benefits. Adjust for timing differences and when money is spent and received, and then compare. This generates an “internal rate of return” (IRR) on the money invested. It’s what private companies do all the time. One then compares that IRR to some reference or “hurdle” rate. For a private company that might be 12% or so. For governments it is typically lower. An obvious question this raises is: what are the benefits? <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439623/original/file-20220106-27-vyofyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439623/original/file-20220106-27-vyofyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> An artist’s impression by Phil Belbin of the proposed VFT (Very Fast Train) in the 1980s. Comeng If all one is willing to count are things such as ticket fares, the numbers will almost never stack up. But that’s far too narrow a way to think about the financial benefits. A Sydney-Newcastle high-speed rail link would cut down on travel times, help ease congestion in Sydney, ease housing affordability pressures in Sydney, improve property values along the corridor and in Newcastle, provide better access to education and jobs, and more. The point is one has to think about the social value from government investments, not just the narrow commercial value. Alex Rosenberg, Rosalind Dixon and I provided a framework for this kind of “social return accounting” in a <a href="http://research.economics.unsw.edu.au/richardholden/assets/social-return-accounting.pdf">report</a> published in 2018. <h2>Newcastle might make sense, Brisbane might not</h2> I haven’t done the social cost-benefit analysis for this rail link, but the social return being greater than the cost is quite plausible. The other thing to remember is that the return a government should require has fallen materially in recent years. The Australian government can borrow for 10 years at just 1.78%, as opposed to <a href="http://www.worldgovernmentbonds.com/bond-historical-data/australia/10-years/">well over 5%</a> before the financial crisis of 2008. I’m less sure about the Brisbane to Melbourne idea. The cost would be dramatically higher for obvious reasons, as well as the fact that the topography en route to Brisbane is especially challenging. Nobody is going to commute from Sydney to Brisbane by rail, and the air routes between the three capitals are well serviced. <h2>Transport policy is not industry policy</h2> The decision about building a Sydney-Newcastle rail link is, and should be kept, completely separate from where the trains are made. Transport policy shouldn’t be hijacked for industry policy. To be fair, Newcastle has a long and proud history of <a href="https://www.ugllimited.com/en/our-sectors/transport">manufacturing rolling stock</a>, at what was the Goninan factory at Broadmeadow – much of it for export. But ask yourself how sustainable that industry looks in Australia, absent massive government support. Can it stand on its own? It’s also true there have been some recent high-profile procurement disasters buying overseas trains. Sydney’s light-rail project has run massively late and over budget, with Spanish company Acciona getting an extra A$600 million due to the project being more difficult than expected. Then <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/transport-minister-expects-spanish-manufacturer-to-pay-for-cracked-trams-20211110-p597tq.html">cracks were found</a> in all 12 trams for the city’s inner-west line, putting them out of service for 18 months. These are terrible bungles due to the government agreeing to poorly written contracts with sophisticated counterparties. When contracts don’t specify contingencies there is the possibility of what economists call the “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1530-9134.2009.00236.x">hold-up problem</a>”. But these problems could have occurred with a local maker too. <h2>The Tinbergen Rule</h2> An enduring lesson from economics is the Tinbergen Rule – named after <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1969/tinbergen/facts/">Jan Tinbergen</a>, winner of the first Nobel prize for economics. This rule says for each policy challenge one requires an independent policy instrument. This can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-evergrande-may-survive-but-for-its-executives-expect-a-fate-worse-than-debt-168930">widely applied</a>. But here the lesson is particularly clear. Addressing housing affordability is a good idea, and a Sydney-Newcastle link could help with that. But if Labor want a jobs policy it should develop one. The more TAFE places Labor has already announced is a reasonable start. Reviving 1970s-style industry policy – something that has almost never worked – is not a good move. Governments are lousy at picking winners. The public invariably ends up paying more for less, and the jobs are typically transient. But aside from this conflation of policy goals, Albanese deserves credit for being bold about the future of high-speed rail in Australia. <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-holden-118107">Richard Holden</a>, Professor of Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-sydney-to-newcastle-fast-rail-makes-sense-making-trains-locally-does-not-174341">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Domestic Travel

Instead of putting more massive trucks on our roads, we need to invest in our rail network

In recent years, the <a href="https://transport.vic.gov.au/ports-and-freight/freight-victoria">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/strategy/nsw-freight-and-ports-plan">New South Wales</a> governments have both unveiled strategies to move more freight across the country by rail and ease the increasing pressure of goods moving through the two largest container ports. The reality is, however, the numbers of containers coming and going by rail to the Port of Melbourne and Sydney’s Port Botany have been going backwards. <h2>More massive trucks on Victoria’s highways</h2> The Port of Melbourne moves more containers than any other port in Australia. In 2020-21, <a href="https://www.portofmelbourne.com/about-us/trade-statistics/quarterly-trade-reports/">3.3 million</a> containers passed through the port, a <a href="https://www.portofmelbourne.com/about-us/trade-statistics/historical-trade-data/">30% increase from ten years ago</a>. Over this time, the percentage of containers moving by rail has fallen, reaching a <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Container%20stevedoring%20monitoring%20report%202020-21.pdf">low of 6.1% in 2020-21</a>. This has meant the number of trucks going to and from the Port of Melbourne has significantly increased. This has been assisted by improvements to the state’s roads and bridges. But the Victoria government also in mid-2021 <a href="https://transport.vic.gov.au/about/transport-news/news-archive/guiding-road-freight">approved</a> large “A Double” trucks being able to access the Port of Melbourne. These trucks can carry two 12-metre containers and be up to 36 metres long – much longer than the standard semitrailer at 19 metres. Large numbers of trucks accessing the ports not only add to road construction and maintenance bills, they also make our roads less safe and more congested, and add to noise and air pollution. The <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/994-epc-lc/inquiry-into-air-pollution">recently released report</a> into the health effects of air pollution in Victoria notes the city of Maribyrnong has some of Australia’s highest levels of diesel pollution. This is mostly due to the number of trucks accessing the Port of Melbourne each day. The report also notes the transport sector is accountable for <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/SCEP/Air_Pollution/Report/LCEPC_59-04_Health_impacts_air_pollution_Vic_Report.pdf">20% of Victoria’s total greenhouse gas emissions</a>. In 2018, Victoria introduced a new <a href="https://transport.vic.gov.au/getting-around/roads/heavy-vehicles">freight plan</a> that included initiatives to move more goods from the port by rail. One of these projects was the Port Rail Shuttle Network, a $28 million investment to connect the freight terminal in South Dandenong to the rail network. This is now underway. Increasing the amount of freight moving by rail will not only make our roads safer and reduce maintenance costs, it makes environmental sense – <a href="https://www.railfutures.org.au/2017/07/submission-to-inquiry-into-national-freight-and-supply-chain-priorities">rail freight produces one-third the emissions of road freight</a>. However, rail freight in Victoria is crippled by two different track gauges and tracks with too many temporary and permanent speed restrictions. Without greater investment to improve the rail system, it remains a less feasible option than moving freight on massive trucks on our roads. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437972/original/file-20211216-19-ljbvpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> A freight train passing through a level crossing in Cootamundra, NSW. Shutterstock <h2>Sydney’s situation is not much better</h2> A recent NSW <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/rail-freight-and-greater-sydney">auditor-general report</a> said the volume of freight passing through Greater Sydney is expected to increase by 48% by 2036. In 2020-21, <a href="https://www.nswports.com.au/nsw-ports-ceo-update-july-2021">2.7 million containers</a> moved through Port Botany. The NSW government had planned to increase the number of containers moving by rail from the port to <a href="https://www.nswports.com.au/resources-filtered/trade-reports">28% by 2021</a>. However, the auditor-general report said this effort would fall short. Just 16% is currently carried by rail. This means more trucks on the roads in NSW, as well. The NSW government has also recently <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/congestion-compounded-as-more-trucks-added-to-sydney-roads-20201101-p56aix.html">given permission</a> for “A Double” trucks to access Port Botany. The auditor-general report made recommendations on how NSW Transport could improve the operation of the state’s rail network to allow for more rail freight. It noted, for example, 54 trucks could be replaced by one 600-metre-long port shuttle freight train. <h2>Rail moving less intercity freight</h2> The rail network between Australia’s two largest cities is outdated and under-utilised. In fact, the proportion of freight moving between Melbourne and Sydney on rail has <a href="https://pacificnational.com.au/australias-major-highway-now-a-conveyor-belt-for-big-trucks/">fallen to about 1% today</a>. In 1970, it was <a href="https://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/2000/is_017">about 40%</a>. This is, in part, due to the total <a href="https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/about/environment/protecting-heritage/hume-highway-duplication/index.html">reconstruction</a> of the Hume Highway from a basic two-lane road to a modern dual carriageway, completed in 2013. There are now over <a href="https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/about/corporate-publications/statistics/traffic-volumes/aadt-map/index.html#/?z=6&id=GNDSTC&hv=1">20 million tonnes of freight</a> moved each year on the Hume Highway, with over 3,800 trucks on the road each day (and night at Gundagai). The result is more road trauma, higher maintenance bills and pressure for further road upgrades. Plus more emissions. The Sydney-Melbourne rail track, meanwhile, has been left with severe speed weight restrictions and a “steam age” alignment characterised by tight curves. It is also over 60 kms longer than it needs to be. <h2>From a national perspective</h2> Getting more freight on rail is not helped by hidden government subsidies to heavy truck operations, which in my estimations exceed <a href="https://theconversation.com/distance-based-road-charges-will-improve-traffic-and-if-done-right-wont-slow-australias-switch-to-electric-cars-150290">$2 billion per year</a>. It is also made harder by the current <a href="https://www.freightaustralia.gov.au/">National Freight and Supply Chain strategy</a>, which puts much more emphasis on increasing truck productivity with ever larger trucks. Instead, much more attention is needed to improving the efficiency and competitiveness of rail freight.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172491/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/philip-laird-3503">Philip Laird</a>, Honorary Principal Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/instead-of-putting-more-massive-trucks-on-our-roads-we-need-to-invest-in-our-rail-network-172491">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Domestic Travel

Why a gazebo railing in Naples has gone viral

A photo of an unsuspecting hand railing in Naples, Italy, has gone viral for a very unexpected reason. The railing sits on top of a hill that is connected to the popular tourist destination St Elmo’s castle. Each year, thousands of people trek up the stairs to observe the picturesque view from the top that overlooks the Tyrrhenian sea and Italy’s Mount Vesuvius. However, instead of the view catching a Twitter user's attention, it was the detailed hand railing. The 92-foot-long piece of steel is etched with braille, describing the stunning view for the blind. The unique railing was installed in 2015 by artist Paolo Puddu and is titled “Follow the Shape”, which has been a permanent fixture of the castle ever since. Blind visitors are encouraged to run their hands along the railing to read verses from The Land and The Man: a poetry series from Italian author Giuseppe de Lorenzo. The inscription is carved in both Italian and English, as tourists are prompted to imagine the stunning view in front of them. Twitter user, Rob N Roll, shared the image online, which welcomed a flood of messages praising the unique art installation. He captioned his image, “This railing on a gazebo in Naples has braille describing the view for blind people. More of this please.” Image credit: Twitter - Rob N Roll

Art

“Very serious”: Thousands in Sydney potentially exposed to infected woman

Health experts worry thousands of people have been exposed to COVID-19 after one infected woman travelled across the city using a dozen different trains and light rail services. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Thursday that a woman who is employed at a Sydney hotel complex that worked with travellers quarantining, tested positive for the virus. The woman travelled on the train from Minto to Lidcombe and Central and on the light rail from Central to Darling Harbour on a number of occasions while she was potentially highly infectious. Hotel staff at the Ibis hotel in Darling Harbour and Novotel are all being tested and anyone who lives in the Minto area is being urged to come forward for testing. Ms Berejiklian said the situation was “very serious” and she “won’t hesitate to act” if the situation requires NSW’s restrictions to change.

News

Hundreds given on-the-spot fine for breaking little-known road rule

Police have started cracking down on pedestrians for breaking one major rule around Sydney’s new light rail, with hundreds of people being penalised. Between December 2019 and January 2020 NSW Police conducted a Pedestrian Compliance Operation are the light rail route in the CBD and Kensington areas. This resulted in 253 infringements which were issued to those who failed to follow traffic signals. The offence is penalised with an on-the-spot fine of $76, with police saying the rule is put in place to help reduce the risk of pedestrians getting injured. “This operation aims to reduce the risk of collisions involving pedestrians through education and enforcement at locations identified as high-risk areas,” said NSW Police. “So far this year, three pedestrians have died on NSW roads.” A photo of a policewoman issuing a fine to a pedestrian was posted to Reddit on Monday, sparking a debate as to whether handing out fines was fair. Many believe it’s a form of “revenue raising” and that people should be given warnings instead of a penalty. “But how about issuing warnings instead of fines? Surely that will get the point across just as well?” asked one person. “The fines are completely unnecessary, and people are right to be calling this out as a revenue raising exercise.” Another agreed, saying penalising pedestrians for this act was the “epitome of a nanny state”. But despite the outcry, many disagreed saying that it was a matter of safety. “Not revenue raising when it’s trying to promote public safety,” said one person. “Was walking behind a chick that clearly saw these cops this morning, jaywalked anyway then acted surprised when she got a fine. There were about six of them in high vis, couldn’t have been more obvious,” wrote another. Police are urging people to always use pedestrian crossings, and to wait for all vehicles to come to a complete stop before crossing the road.

Legal

The cats that help keep a Japanese rail line in business

Visitors who come to Japan’s Kishigawa line today may see the railway’s unique themed trains and adorable cats as the station masters. What they may not know is the cats’ predecessor saved the rail line from being shut down less than 15 years ago. The Kishigawa Line of the Wakayama Electric Railway runs from JR Wakayama Station through 12 stops over 14.3 kilometres before reaching its final terminus of Kishi Station. It was at Kishi Station that a calico cat named Tama lived. Thanks to her photogenic looks and sweet personality, Tama became popular among commuters, who began championing her as Kishi’s “stationmaster”. The rural rail line began experiencing problems in mid-2000s as the number of passengers were declining. In 2006, the Kishigawa line’s fourteen stations were unstaffed. Fortunately, it didn’t spell an end to the railway. “In 2006, the current president of the Wakayama Electric Railway, Mitsunobu Kojima, was asked by residents to revive the Kishigawa line after the previous owner had announced it was to be abolished,” Keiko Yamaki, executive at the Wakayama Electric Railway’s owner Ryobi told <a href="http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190522-the-cat-who-saved-a-japanese-rail-line">BBC</a>. That was when Kojima met Tama. “Our president has always been a dog person, but when he met Tama that was it … he fell for her.” In January 2007, Kojima officially named Tama as the “Stationmaster of Kishi Station”, anointing her as Japan’s first feline stationmaster. Tourists soon came in waves to see the special representative of the line, who would often greet customers from atop a table by the ticket gates. Reports said during her time as the stationmaster from 2007 to 2015, Tama brought in 1.1 billion yen (about AU$14 million) to the local economy. The Railway said the annual number of passengers have grown by nearly 300,000 since 2006. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTlI36zglH4/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTlI36zglH4/" target="_blank">A post shared by @carolelv</a> on May 1, 2017 at 11:42pm PDT </div> </blockquote> Tama also became a trademark for the Kishi station. Tama-chan’s merchandise could be found in the station shop. Drawings of the cat could be found on every surface of the building, which has also been rebuilt in the shape of a cat’s head. The whiskered feline also inspired Tama Densha, the now-representative train of the Kishigawa line. The train’s design and interior is based on Tama and her three colours, complete with 101 different drawings of the furry stationmaster with a variety of facial expressions. When Tama passed away at 16 years old in 2015, thousands of people attended her funeral at the station. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfKa67bAvLN/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfKa67bAvLN/" target="_blank">A post shared by Kevin (@primordialooze)</a> on Feb 13, 2018 at 7:57pm PST </div> </blockquote> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BflWZjMnNFi/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BflWZjMnNFi/" target="_blank">A post shared by Chakriya Chunkesa (@puku_chakri)</a> on Feb 24, 2018 at 6:57am PST </div> </blockquote> But her legacy doesn’t end there – her successor Nitama (meaning “Tama two” in Japanese) has taken the role of Kishi stationmaster, while another apprentice Yontama (“Tama four”) is assigned in Idakiso.

International Travel

Train drivers’ eye-watering salaries

Train drivers’ eye-watering salaries have been revealed by a <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank">Daily Telegraph report</a>, which says Queensland’s top-paid train driver took home nearly $76,000 in overtime last financial year, equating to a full-time Australian salary. As the Sunshine State’s government scrambles to fill 200 vacant positions, reports have revealed the median base salary for a full-time train driver was $95,351.32, with total pay rising to $130,022.05 including overtime and allowances. Citytrain drivers were clocking an average of 6.45 hours of overtime per week, according to figures released by the state’s Transport Minister Mark Bailey. “Queensland Rail is working hard to recruit additional train crew and has already reduced the level of overtime for train crew,” he said. “In addition, Queensland Rail has opened train crew recruitment to external applicants, which is critical to boosting train crew numbers and increasing Queensland Rail’s services.” Queensland Rail are keen to avoid a repeat of the 2016 drama where a driver shortage resulted in network-wide delays and the cancellation of 167 services over several days. “Queensland Rail is working hard to recruit additional train crew and has already reduced the level of overtime for train crew,” he said. “In addition, Queensland Rail has opened train crew recruitment to external applicants, which is critical to boosting train crew numbers and increasing Queensland Rail’s services.” Mr Bailey said more drivers would commence this year than under the entire previous LNP government. “Train drivers and guards are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of up to 1000 customers at any one time,” he said. “They are required to work weekends, public holidays and shift work and are remunerated accordingly for this time away from family, when most people are at home or enjoying time off. “There is an expectation that they are resilient and adaptive, with the ability to problem solve during unplanned disruptions, critical incidents and emergency situations, however it is not mandatory to work overtime. But Opposition MP Steve Minnikin <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-20/qr-train-drivers-earn-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-in-overtime/9565690" target="_blank">told the ABC</a> these figures are unacceptable. “Whilst commuters are cramming into packed trains or being left stranded on the platform, Queensland Rail drivers are counting their cash,” he said. “Some drivers are earning more than $65,000 a year in overtime alone with their total remuneration almost reaching $200,000 a year. Labor’s train driver shortage means more overtime for union drivers, paid for by taxpayers.” What are your thoughts?

Money & Banking

Rail booking mistakes to avoid at all costs

Budget flights, cruises, even schlepping it in a cramped bus (to save a bit of money) are always going to be popular options for their own reasons, but we think if you’re planning a trip in 2018 there’s never been a better time to travel by train. That said, it isn’t as easy as rocking up to the platform 10 minutes before you need to leave hopping aboard. Train stations are often busy, disorienting places to navigate and often you don’t realise you’re in wrong carriage until it’s far too late. To take some of the stress out of your rail travel in 2018, the <a href="http://www.railplus.com.au/" target="_blank">travel experts at Rail Plus</a> have shared five common mistakes people make when they’re booking rail tickets. To see these mistakes, and how to avoid them, scroll through the gallery above. Have you ever taken a major train journey?

International Travel

Can you spot what’s wrong with this photo?

Do you notice anything interesting about this photograph? It may look like like a line of theatre goers queuing for their Light Rail replacement bus service after a matinee performance at The Star casino in Sydney’s Pyrmont. But look closer and you’ll notice that not one of them is looking at their mobile phone. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> If ever you were looking for the real difference between millennials and baby boomers, here it is <a href="https://t.co/s3zgLmHcp9">https://t.co/s3zgLmHcp9</a> — The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) <a href="https://twitter.com/smh/status/948109178438148096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2018</a></blockquote> In most other instances where commuters gather, the majority are looking at a device to pass the time, but not here. It’s somewhat nice to see that people can still just wait patiently for their transport to arrive without the help of modern technology. We can only wonder if they all got a seat. Do you get frustrated with people being on their mobile phone while queuing or taking public transport? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Hero image credit: Twitter / The Sydney Morning Herald

Art

Why “sail and rail” is the new way to travel

It’s often said there are two types of travellers. Those who like to explore the ocean on a cruise, and those who prefer to see the interior of a country aboard a train. Both options seem equally as appealing, and many tourism operators are cottoning on to this with “sail and rail” tour options that offer the best of both worlds. <a href="https://www.railplus.com.au/" target="_blank">Rail Plus</a> Commercial Director Ingrid Kocijan says there’s been a huge upsurge in travellers booking rail passes to complement their cruise itineraries. “Convenience, spectacular scenery, value for money and high-quality on-board services are usually top contributing factors for travellers when it comes to deciding which rail journeys or passes to book,” she says. But what are the most attractive options? Well, we’ve provided a rundown of some of the world’s best “sail and rail” tour options in the gallery above. Scroll through yourself (but warning, it’ll be hard to do so without the travel bug biting). Have you ever taken a “sail and rail” tour? Would you be keen to do so, if the right opportunity presented itself? Let us know in the comments below. For more information about “sail and rail” tour packages <a href="http://www.railplus.com.au/" target="_blank">click here</a>.

Travel Tips

One of NSW’s newest rail lines will close just a few years after it opened

One part of Sydney’s newest rail network will close for at least seven months, just a few years after it was opened with much fanfare. On Wednesday, the NSW Government announced that the Epping to Chatswood line, which is only eight years old, will be temporarily closed during the latter half of 2018 and early 2019. There is nothing wrong with the line but it’s no longer fit for purpose. Built at a cost of more than $2 billion, the rail line accommodates regular Sydney suburban double deck trains. However, the government wants the line to be a key part of the Sydney Metro, which only uses single decker trains. The Epping to Chatswood line opened in 2008 connecting Macquarie University and the renovated Macquarie Park shopping centre and business parks to the city. But several years later it will need to be shut to convert it to Metro standards so new trains from Sydney’s North West can run through it. Replacement bus services could double passengers’ daily commute time, and there are concerns that bus services will not have the capacity to carry all current train passengers. There are a number of new rail infrastructure projects in Australia, which includes this $12 billion Sydney Metro and the $11 billion Melbourne Metro tunnel construction which just started. The NSW Government promises the wait will be worth it. “We’re on track for Sydney Metro Northwest, which will deliver reliable turn-up-and-go train services to North West customers when it opens in the first half of 2019,” Transport Minister Andrew Constance said on Wednesday. “We’re boosting bus services in and around the train stations from Epping to Chatswood to ensure customers can easily travel to the shops, work, study, and back home reliably and safely,” he added.

Domestic Travel

Crossing Australian aboard The Ghan

Great Southern Rail's Ghan train is epic. Traversing 2979 kilometres over three days and two nights on a magnificent and almost 1km-long snake of a train from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Adelaide in South Australia is a wondrous experience. Within half an hour of our departure from the lush greenery of Darwin I am talking to fellow punters in the Outback Explorer Lounge over a fine wine or beer. Dave and Sharon and Mal and Ros drove from Adelaide to Darwin for a "fun adventure" and now they are "relaxing in luxury for the return trip". With their cars safely locked up in The Ghan's transport carriage for the ridiculously cheap price of $300 a car, the four friends are happily viewing the scenery, and clinking glasses to celebrate. And celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Ghan track stretching from Alice Springs to Darwin, Great Southern Rail has included dining in the Queen Adelaide Restaurant, where gold and platinum-class travellers enjoy quality Australian wines, beers, base spirits, soft drinks, tea and coffee, complementing three-course meals. Guests sharing travelling experiences in the Outback Explorer Lounge enjoy the same refreshments. Proving popular, this initiative by GSR is to continue. Three options are available on The Ghan to heighten your experience. For the young at heart or budget-conscious, red class provides day-nighter reclining seats, cabinet food, meals and drinks for purchase. Gold-class passengers relax in private cabins that include big windows, a two-seater sofa (foldaway bed) and en suite. <img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/29259/image__498x245.jpg" alt="the ghan (1)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Platinum contains a double bed and en suite and views from both sides of the exclusive carriages. Whatever class you choose, the focus is on relaxation and enjoyment as The Ghan journeys through the vast and diverse Australian landscape. Cynics of long train journeys often shout "Take a book", but time passes quickly and after our departure from Darwin at 9am, The Ghan reaches its first exciting stop at picturesque Katherine in just over three hours. Katherine is true adventure territory and the majestic 292,000-hectare Nitmuluk National Park is the gem of the region. With various excursions on offer, including a cultural experience, I choose the Nitmuluk Gorge cruise, which is a gentle journey through two gorges. Bordered by 60-metre-high sandstone cliff faces, designer-like fracture lines caused by erosion quickly become a visual treat. Amid the serenity, it is time to leave the boat and walk. With flat rocks laid into the pathway, wooden bridges and glistening, crystal-clear pools scattered along the trail and sub-gorges in the distance, it is well designed to evoke the natural beauty of Katherine, and one feels happily lost in another time and place. Back on board The Ghan after more than four hours absorbing the delights of Katherine, a refreshing shower enhances thoughts of dinner. In the plush Queen Adelaide dining car, we are seated at tables for four, and immediately conversation beckons. With crisp white tablecloths supporting wine glasses and plates, diners are happily invited to choose from the richly inspiring three-course menu. Entree is minestrone soup or my personal choice, blue swimmer crab, poached and served on sourdough with spiced avocado and topped with pickled ginger and cucumber. It was divine. For the main I chose grilled saltwater barramundi – delightful. Our table of four chose the decadent Belgian chocolate muntries pudding, dripping with chocolate sauce. <img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/29258/image__498x245.jpg" alt="ghan (1)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Sipping red wine, it is hard to believe diners are seated on a train, and that is the thing about the journey on The Ghan. Viewing plush greens and then the rusty hues of Australia's red centre, residing in spacious cabins and absorbing interesting and funny tales from fellow travellers, it is more like being in a plush hotel – on steel wheels. Everything is taken care of. Beds are turned down when guests are at dinner and we arrive back at our cabins with handmade chocolates on the beds. Encouraged to sleep by the comforting rhythm of the rails, we awake the next day refreshed and eager to venture into our second stop, Alice Springs. Pyndan Camel Tracks (a family business) transport eight of us to its ranch-style acreage. We are novices at riding camels, but Marcus "The Camel Man" Williams beckons us towards the kneeling camels and explains that when seated, "Lean back in the seat and hold on as you will be lurched forward". The camels, including Doc, Ruby and Saleh, rise slowly, but the power in their back legs certainly propels one forward. Happy with our camel trail loosely roped together, we set off around the property for a surprisingly comfortable dusty-trail ride. Atop a camel on a gorgeous 25-degree morning lazily surveying the West MacDonnell Ranges, one feels totally at ease and wishes the camel trail would just go on and on. Camels can live until age 50 and are capable of carrying at least 300 kilograms. While other Alice Springs excursions, including the Alice Explorer and the Alice Springs Desert Park are inclusive, Pyndan Camel Tracks, subsidised by GSR, costs $40, and punters agreed it was THE choice. Relaxing in the Outback Explorer Lounge, Robert and Annette are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. Annette says Robert surprised her with a ticket and she is "loving every moment". The Ghan crosses its only two watercourses – the rivers Hugh and Finke – but they are rivers of sand. The Finke River features rocky riverbeds that date back 300 million years. The history and timelines realised during this journey are astonishing. After dinner, travellers reflect on their favourite parts of the trip. Peter was impressed with sighting the freshwater crocodiles almost disguised in the sand at Katherine, while Judy says riding a camel at Alice Springs has prompted her to buy a book called Tracks, by Robyn Davidson, who with four camels and a dog trekked 2700km across the Australian desert in 1977. <img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/29257/image__498x245.jpg" alt="the ghan" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Davidson's story has recently been made into a major film titled Making Tracks, starring Mia Wasikowska. On our final morning we awake to the staggering surrounds of the Flinders Ranges, which stretch more than 430km. Our final destination, Adelaide, is now only a few hours away and morning tea is provided, with selections of sandwiches, slices and muffins. From the railway town of Port Augusta and later the wind farms of Snowtown, suddenly acre upon acre of yellow fields fill the windows announcing (rapeseed) canola oil crops. Within the next few minutes the vista turns deep green, church steeples are seen in the distance and suddenly The Ghan has arrived in Adelaide. On arrival, it is hard to believe we have journeyed 2979km through the heart of Australia fuelled by comfort, fine food and new friends. The Ghan is a unique experience and one that richly rewards in many memorable ways. Have you ever taken The Ghan? Or have you been on one of the other great Australian train journeys? Let us know in the comments section. Written by Steve Scott. First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a>. Image credit: Great Southern Rail Related links: <a href="/travel/international/2016/07/the-cheapest-way-to-travel-from-venice-to-paris/">The cheapest way to travel from Venice to Paris</a> <a href="/travel/international/2016/07/10-views-you-can-only-experience-from-a-train/">10 views you can only experience from a train</a> <a href="/travel/international/2016/06/crossing-australia-in-style-aboard-the-indian-pacific/">Crossing Australia in style aboard the Indian Pacific</a>

International Travel

High-speed rail link from Sydney to Melbourne revealed

Exciting new plans to construct a high-speed rail link between Sydney and Melbourne have just been unveiled, and if the reports are to be believed, taxpayers won’t have to foot the bill. The proposed link would see travellers able to travel from Melbourne to Sydney in less than two hours (or two hours and 45 minutes for an all-stops service). The eight-stop link would also connect Canberra as well as regional areas like the Southern Highlands, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga and Shepparton. Nick Cleary, chairman of the company proposing the new link (Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, or CLARA) says the $200 billion project, conceived with the help of companies such as GE, Aecom, RMIT and the CSIRO, would not rely on funding from state or federal governments. After 12 months of negotiations with land owners, CLARA has secured rights to almost half of the land required for the train route. “Not only is CLARA seeking to build the world's largest high-speed rail infrastructure to date, the rail network is just part of a wider plan providing a quantum leap forward for the development of inland Australia,” Cleary said. “Our plan is about decentralisation. It’s actually a cities plan.” What do you think about the proposed rail link? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. Related links: <a href="/news/news/2016/07/aussies-households-feel-the-pinch-in-power-price-hike/">Aussie households feel the pinch in power price hike</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/07/molly-meldrum-hospitalised/">Molly Meldrum admitted to hospital</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/07/seals-put-on-show-at-sydney-opera-house/">Seals put on show at Sydney Opera House</a>

News

5 things to expect on a major train journey

Train journeys are unlike any other type of travel. Here’s what you need to know before you go. 1. Everything is really (really) small Unless you’re lucky enough to be travelling on a luxurious train through India in your own private carriage (yes, they do exist), be prepared for a world in miniature. Most sleeper cabins will have bunk beds that convert to a two- or three-seat lounge during the day, as well as a very small ensuite. There’s not much in the way of storage space so you’re advised to pack light. 2. Your day is scheduled around food On long journeys, like Australia’s iconic The Ghan that travels through the middle of the country, you’ll quickly learn to mark time by meals. Because there’s not much to do beyond look out the window, read a book or take a nap, you’ll be looking forward to the next meal when you’ve barely finished the first one. It helps that meals onboard tend to be lavish, delicious affairs of many courses and many glasses of wine. 3. You’ll get to know everyone onboard Travelling by train puts you in very close quarters with everyone else onboard, both the passengers and the staff. You’ll be seeing the same people in the dining car, the lounge and the corridors, so it pays to be friendly. If you really want some quiet time, try putting your headphones in when in the lounge (though definitely not at meal times). 4. It’s a step back in time Say goodbye to television and Wi-Fi. Trains tend not to be fitted out with the latest gadgetry. Passengers are encouraged to admire the view and interact with their fellow passengers, rather than bury themselves in a screen. Entertainment is usually restricted to in-cabin music or a commentary on the route. Some trains, like the iconic Venice-Simplon Orient Express, go even further and try to recreate the golden age of rail travel from the 1920s, right down to décor and staff uniforms. 5. Something might go wrong You can’t think of a train as a hotel or even as a cruise ship. It’s constantly on the move, often through remote places, with limited facilities and few expert staff onboard. The kitchen might run out of a particular dish or the air conditioning in your cabin might be struggling, but part of train travel is rolling with the punches. Order something different or retreat to the cool of the bar. Have you ever taken a long train journey, and how did you find the experience? What would you recommend to people taking similar trips? Let us know in the comments. Related links: <a href="/travel/international/2016/06/7-australian-holidays-you-can-visit-all-year-round/">7 Australian holidays you can visit all year round</a> <a href="/travel/international/2016/06/the-power-and-beauty-of-crashing-waves-in-australia/">The power and beauty of crashing waves in Australia</a> <a href="/travel/international/2016/06/adorable-baby-koala-explores-world-for-first-time/">Adorable baby koala explores world for first time</a>

International Travel

Crossing Australia in style aboard the Indian Pacific

There are faster ways to cross Australia – and definitely cheaper ones. But for sheer indulgent grandeur, nothing matches the Indian Pacific. It's one of the world's great train journeys, and the mere mention of it can jolt even the most jaded rail commuter out of their daily lament. This isn't a train trip – it's five-star luxury on rails. The destination is largely incidental because it's the journey that really matters. The Indian Pacific is about seeing the best of this great big, sunburnt land with a nod to the romance of a by-gone era. But the comfortably-appointed Gold Kangaroo class cabins, the lounge car and dining car are really just the supporting act to the scenery – relentless, vast, inspiring and calming all at the same time. The colours of the land, the sky, the wildlife and the random signs of man are hypnotic. Throughout the miles and miles of gently changing scenery the fear of missing something is constant. The verdant ranges of the Blue Mountains give way to the vivid reds of the outback, and even the harsh dryness of South Australia has its own special beauty. The Nullarbor Plain enthrals with its oversized scale, the run into Kalgoorlie sees the return of trees to the landscape and then, on waking on the last morning, it's time to wind through the undulating hills leading to Perth through the Avon Valley. Visitors to Australia often comment on the sky here, and anyone making the trip from Sydney to Perth on this train will likely feel moved to do the same. In the dry heat of Broken Hill the sky was cloudless, and the most beautiful blue, while it was grey, brooding and threatening to pour on the stormy humidity of Adelaide. Across the Nullarbor, the sky and land meet in an almost perfectly horizontal line, although the shimmer of the heat haze can confuse the eye. Emus and kangaroos seem to have grown accustomed to the 30 or so sleek, silver carriages rolling by periodically and they were therefore less interested in us than we were in them. The mark of man on the landscape varies wildly from the urbanisation of Sydney and Perth to the lonely length of outback fence, where it's hard to see what purpose it serves. And then there are the places – like the Nullarbor – where the land seems entirely devoid of human touch as far as the eye can see. Dallas Kilponen, a fellow passenger and veteran of six trips on the Indian Pacific, likened the Nullarbor to a campfire. It's a good analogy because of the way the bush draws you in. The plain makes you wonder who or what survives out there. At the point you are thinking there can't be anything in the vast expanse, another wedge tail eagle swoops into view in breath taking fashion. The Nullarbor also surprised – it is less desert like than I had imagined, though it's a long way from lush. Low growing shrubs and grasses break through the hard-baked earth all along the track. The scenery is a major selling point for the route's operators, Great Southern Railways, but it is much more than eye candy for passing tourists. The sparsity of human landmarks can fool you into thinking the bush is a wasteland, but there are people making a go of it, even if they are far apart from each other. All have chosen to remain in or move to the outback for their own reasons, much like 18-year-old jackaroo Cori Powell, who I spoke to on a brief stop at Rawlinna on the western fringe of the Nullarbor. "I moved over to WA, and I was living in Bunbury, and you know, I'm from a small country town, and it wasn't going too well for me in the city," he said. "I was working in an abattoir, and I just thought I've got to get out of here, I've got to do something different, otherwise I'm going to end up getting in trouble. "I came back to the country because it's a great lifestyle and it just feels right." The Indian Pacific features two classes – Red Kangaroo, beloved by backpackers and those too frightened to fly, and Gold Kangaroo, which delivers a luxurious experience for those a bit more flush. The Gold Kangaroo cabins sleep two people in comfortable single beds, and each has its own ingenious en suite bathroom. The fold out toilet and hand basin don't take much getting used to, while train staff deal with the beds. Choosing a meal always proved hard because of the variety of options, including vegetarian and lactose free. The food, drink and comfortable surroundings go a long way towards ensuring guests don't suffer cabin fever. So engaging was the effortless progress of the landscape that I didn't even open the books I brought. GSR Guest Services Manager Ewald Eisele said: "Typically we get people who want a different, a unique holiday experience. We don't hare along at a million miles an hour. The trip is not about getting from A to B, it's about the whole experience of travelling by train and capturing some of the romance of a bygone era." Australia is such a huge country it is sometimes hard to grasp the scale, but after this journey I feel I know my home a little better, and that I have a little more pride in it. The feeling of wonderful surrender that comes from putting yourself in the hands of a dedicated bunch of people onboard a train like the Indian Pacific is quite rare. Add to that the unpredictability of mobile phone reception and the mateship of your travelling companions to make this the most Australian of experiences. Have you ever caught the Indian Pacific? Perhaps you’ve tried one of Australia’s other great train journeys, or one of the train experiences in Europe? Share your story in the comments below. First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a>. Related links: <a href="/news/news/2016/05/french-train-carriages-turned-into-art/">French trains turned into moving art galleries</a> <a href="/travel/international/2016/06/worlds-longest-train-tunnel-to-open-under-swiss-alps/">World’s longest train tunnel to open under Swiss Alps</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/05/managing-mobility-issues-while-travelling/">Managing mobility issues while travelling</a>

International Travel

Why you need to visit the spectacular Otago Central Rail Trail

Geoff Gabites, a young 64-year-old, discovered cycling in his 40s and quickly turned the sport into an occupation. <a href="http://www.adventuresouth.co.nz/" target="_blank">Adventure South</a> was established in 1992 and is now the leading cycle tour company in New Zealand. Named after the old railway line, built back at the turn of the 20th century, the Otago Central Rail Trail is a must ride. That’s because the initial draw card still remains – stunning vast natural landscapes, beautiful skies, friendly locals and 150 kilometres of flat riding. The trip isn’t just about cycling, there are a number of small historic towns to explore along the way, a legacy of the railway heritage. There are also a number of new accommodation, coffee and dining options that have emerged to cater to the increasing number of tourist visiting. The support structure is now sophisticated with cycle hire of all shapes and forms, luggage transfers, accommodation booking websites and support shuttle options available, as well as guided options for the ultimate carefree experience. The history After government help to develop a walkway and cycleway on the line, the trail was finally opened in 2000. The core market at that time was young backpackers and independent riders. Accommodation, where it existed, was largely dormitory based, with many riders opting to camp along the route, often down by quiet flowing rivers and shady willows. The trail surface was rough as some of the ballast surface still remained and the food offerings along the trail usually consisted of the local pub fare. The coffee was Gregs or Nescafe – instant! Dining out options were extremely limited! Despite this, numbers gradually grew as the Otago Central Railway Trust. The backpacker network spread the news of the quiet locations, the huge skies and the landscapes made famous by Graeme Sydney paintings. By around 2004 there was a steady trickle of riders and the businesses set up to deal with the market were feeling happy with the niche market. But word soon spread northwards as well as outward, about the stunning landscapes and the shoulder to shoulder local interaction down at the pub. This was the genuine New Zealand and the backpacker market loved it! Enter the middle-aged Kiwi female and her friends. Around 2006, I visited a few of our accommodation locations we infrequently used on various tours in the area. Of these locations, all of them were keen to talk about their plans for next season to cater for the growing demand of these “middle aged baby boomers who were starting to turn up with their friends and having a hellava great time”. The word had spread northwards and the floodgates were about to open. By 2008, Adventure South were running guided trips on the Otago Central Rail Trail and by 2010, these had become weekly departures. My insight into this market came when I talked to one group of organiser and the conversation went something like this: “Hi Margaret, it’s great to finally meet you after our various emails. Your group of 6six are already for their trip? How is your cycle fitness – and where are your partners?” Margaret’s response was enlightening: “Hell, we’re not big cyclists, but we do get together every Saturday and ride about 20 kilometres – just as a social thing. Mary’s neighbour rode the Otago Central Rail Trail last summer and we saw her photos and she loved it, so here we are!” “And what about your husbands and partners…?” “Huh, they were always too busy to join us, had rugby to watch, work to do, and all sorts of excuses, so bugger them, we’re here to have a good time!” The guide’s code of ethics ensures what went on tour, stayed on tour. Interestingly enough, within two years, the trickle became a flood, and sure enough, the males were there believing it was all their idea. The casual Saturday cycle ride had now swelled to become a social phenomenon with lycra to the fore, training regimes the norm, and wide gel seats the norm. The age bracket continued to grow and is now well into the 70s. It has become a favourite of the over60 set and I recommend everyone give it a go. Have you ridden the Otago Central Rail before? Share your experience with us in the comments below. To find more information about cycling in New Zealand, visit <a href="http://www.cyclejourneys.co.nz/" target="_blank">Cycle Journeys site here.</a> Image credits: Adventure South NZ Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/02/a-look-inside-first-class-cabins/">Inside 8 first class cabins that will amaze you</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/02/most-photographed-locations-in-london/">London’s 8 most photographed locations</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/02/holiday-ideas-for-animal-lovers/">8 holiday ideas every animal lover needs to experience</a>

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