[RED BAITER]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/na ... 6617969596

$114 billion, 2058 WTF wish they'd spend even a fraction of that on our existing rail network which is desperately underfunded and largely unchanged since the end of steam traction.
$20 bill could fund double stack containers on east coast, major realinement and regrading of steam era rail allignment, North Sydney freight line more crossing loops, etc etc, time to get Priorities straight!

[Ahovking]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/alp-says-its-undeterred-by-cost-and-scale-of-proposed-high-speed-rail-project/story-e6frg6nf-1226617969596

$114 billion, 2058 WTF wish they'd spend even a fraction of that on our existing rail network which is desperately underfunded and largely unchanged since the end of steam traction.
$20 bill could fund double stack containers on east coast, major realinement and regrading of steam era rail allignment, North Sydney freight line more crossing loops, etc etc, time to get Priorities straight!

If we let Australians build the rail way it will be finnish by 2050 while if you hire a Chinese company to build the railway it will take anywhere between 5-10 years. So if the Federal Government weren't so scared of the public opinion, they should hire the Chinese for the job. Its taken australian builders 5 weeks to build 1 small Roundabout down my road that still isn't finnish while the china does it in days.

This new railway systems is a very good idea, by looking at other states that have done the same regional areas have benefited and so does cities to a lesser extent. But it will never be made due to it will take Australians some 50 years to build it while the fear of jobs being lost to foreign will prevent the Chinese to build it between 5 to 10 years.

[unbalanced zealot]

Ahov. I agree 100%.

Australia takes forever to build stuff. I remember they were building an overpass in Canberra and I left for 2 and a half years and came back and they were STILL building it.

Here in Korea I drive along a freeway to work each day and go under a new high speed train overpass that extends as far as the eye can see each way. They've done most of it in the last 8 months, it's amazing and almost finshed in under a year.

Chinese companies or Korean if you want quality.

[AVT]

I think a lot of the delay would be due to the planning\acquiring land for the route, if anyone has worked on an Australian mine site or construction site they know why they are viewed as unproductive; mainly due to ridiculous union demands and OHS red tape, wouldn't be surprised if BHP started making people do JHA's just to tie your shoe lace. Even if a Chinese company was hired their practices would still have to comply with state and federal laws which are burdensome to say the least.

[colliric]

If we let Australians build the rail way it will be finnish by 2050 while if you hire a Chinese company to build the railway it will take anywhere between 5-10 years. So if the Federal Government weren't so scared of the public opinion, they should hire the Chinese for the job. Its taken australian builders 5 weeks to build 1 small Roundabout down my road that still isn't finnish while the china does it in days.

This new railway systems is a very good idea, by looking at other states that have done the same regional areas have benefited and so does cities to a lesser extent. But it will never be made due to it will take Australians some 50 years to build it while the fear of jobs being lost to foreign will prevent the Chinese to build it between 5 to 10 years.

Concerning your Roundabout, that's most likely the local council's fault rather than the builders.... trust me, in China the locals are just as bad, if not worse.

Even if a Chinese company was hired their practices would still have to comply with state and federal laws which are burdensome to say the least.

The bane of not living in a one-party anti-unionist state.

[Kman]

Ahov. I agree 100%.

Australia takes forever to build stuff. I remember they were building an overpass in Canberra and I left for 2 and a half years and came back and they were STILL building it.

Haha it is the same in Denmark, I recently had two WTF moments as I came across a highway section that they were STILL building on, they have been building on it forever, another was a school for educating teachers, they have been building on that forever also, made me go wtf....

[foxdemon]

$20 bill could fund double stack containers on east coast, major realinement and regrading of steam era rail allignment, North Sydney freight line more crossing loops, etc etc, time to get Priorities straight!

I completely agree.

I'd just like to add that the 40 years following the first railway in NSW (1855 to 1895), the people of the time were able to cover much of the state in a rail network. Today it seems we are challenged to build a single line in the same period of time. Quite frankly the idea of doing a study of building a rail line in 40 years time is ridiculous. I wonder how much the report cost to produce?

[fractalign]

Our rail system is too valuable an asset to be left in the control of state governments. If the Commonwealth took control of our rail system then high speed rail would be one step closer. As long as you have bickering state governments often on opposing political sides you will never get anything built. Only the commonwealth can make this happen, otherwise it will never happen.