Australian High
Speed Rail Association
A modern, integrated rail network offers the best option for balancing Australia’s future growth.
Introduction
Australia's population will double to 46 million by 2075. Despite having the world’s sixth largest land mass, Australia’s population is highly urbanised, with over 86% of residents living in cities. Large expanses of high amenity, sparsely populated regional areas are widely separated from densely populated, congested capital cities. This accelerating pattern of human settlement fails to take advantage of Australia’s natural attributes, is too expensive for many families to afford, and is not sustainable.
A modern, integrated rail network offers the best option for reshaping Australia’s growth trajectory. Faster and more frequent rail service would better connect major cities with regional areas and give more people access to employment opportunities and essential public services. It would help balance employment and residential growth between high-cost urban centres and lower-cost, high amenity regional areas. It would allow Australians to experience the benefits being delivered by hundreds of similar projects around the world.
The Australian government has established the High Speed Rail Authority as an independent body to advise on, plan and develop a high speed rail system (Authority). Initial actions by the Authority indicate a “business as usual” approach to this project by federal and state governments. The history of high speed rail investigations in Australia demonstrates that this approach is unlikely to produce positive results.
The Australian High Speed Association is an independent, non-partisan association established by private citizens with extensive experience in high speed rail (Association). The Association believes that the magnitude and timeframes required to upgrade Australia’s existing interstate and regional rail networks to high speed standards requires fundamental changes in the way government undertakes major infrastructure projects. Accordingly, the Association proposes to undertake a comprehensive program of public education, technical investigations and policy development into high speed and fast rail to provide informed, objective advice the Authority and other stakeholders.
VISION
Australians living in urban centres and regional areas have access to high quality jobs, affordable housing, advanced education facilities and specialised medical services via fast, modern and sustainable rail services.​
PURPOSE
The Association draws together leading experts, supportive organisations and interested citizens to advocate for and provide independent, non-partisan, expert advice to the Australian government, State and Territory government agencies, and other stakeholders involved in planning and developing high speed and faster rail networks.
Our Values
The Australian High-Speed Rail Association is a not-for-profit public company that seeks to advance the future development of Australia by improving rail services between urban centres and regional areas.
Modern high speed and fast rail networks are essential to Australia's development and require sustained, long-term investment by governments at all levels.
Public investment in high speed and fast rail should equitably benefit residents in urban centres and in regional areas in the jurisdictions in which those networks operate.
An East Coast Settlement Plan is needed to accommodate a doubling of Australia's population over the next 50 years and to lay the foundation for a network of fast and high speed rail services connecting capital cities and regional centres.
Public investment in high speed and fast rail should be designed to achieve the highest possible environmental, social and governance outcomes.
Australian taxpayers should receive a fair share of the land value uplift created by the public's investment in high speed and fast rail.