Train travel time from Sydney to Canberra may be shortened to 3 hours!
Government, NSW, revealed a 4.2 billion-yuan Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund (Hydro-hydroelectric Heritage Fund, which includes a new railway to speed up Sydney`s train trip to Canberra.
The legacy fund was created after the federal government bought the state`s share of the Snowy Hydro Scheme program, allowing it to expand its capacity as part of the Snowy Hydro Scheme 2.0 program.
New South Wales Deputy Governor and New State District Director John Barilaro today announced five priority areas for funding use.
He said every penny would go to New South Wales and listed five priority areas of spending, including water security, eliminating state-wide mobile blind spots and speeding up road and rail travel.
Improved freight links through the establishment of a possible international cargo airport in rural New South Wales and the creation of a new economic "activation zone" are also on the agenda.
The plans could also include identifying a new route to take a faster train between Canberra and Sydney, John Barilaro said.
Currently, it takes four and a half hours to travel from Sydney to Canberra, much longer than driving three hours (depending on traffic).
"reducing train travel time from Canberra to Sydney to less than three hours is a plan," said the NSW National Party leader.
The plan should not be confused with the high-speed rail plan, which will reduce travel time to 48 minutes.
John Barilaro said that in the coming months, government will be more focused on these projects and other investment priorities, all of which will be guided by the 20-year economic vision of government, New South Wales.
"Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund is an investment in young people in the region," he said. "it will set up a business foundation to provide a secure future for those who have lived and worked in our local towns for generations to come."
Five priority areas for the use of funds:
Water security in key watersheds: dams and pipelines are a key priority, and work on water security projects is already under way. Niall Blair, the director of regional water resources, is already working on a regional water strategy that spans priority watersheds.
Invest in Digital Connectivity: the goal is to make New South Wales state-wide coverage of mobile signals.
Improve passenger roads and railways: make interregional travel faster, safer and easier to travel between urban and metropolitan areas.
Freight links: improve regional freight networks to increase exports. The government is investigating an international air transport centre that will allow producers to deliver meat, dairy products, fruits, nuts and seafood at the fastest pace in Australia and around the world.
Create special activation areas: for investors, this means access to unrestricted employment land, simplified planning approvals, investment in start-up infrastructure, and targeted fiscal incentives. Work is under way to build an inland port in Parkes as a special activation area to take advantage of investment in inland railways.
