High Speed Rail Conference

The ARA High Speed Rail Conference wrapped up yesterday with a fantastic lineup of local and international speakers and engaging panels on passenger experience, the economic potential of HSR and the latest developments in the industry.??

The EU has a 2050 target of 60 per cent of citizens using High Speed Rail (HSR) and some of the environmental milestones achieved already are quite inspirational – for example, demand for rail in Spain has increased 400 per cent since the introduction of HSR.?

The conference heard that rail is seven times more energy efficient than road and 15 times more energy efficient than air transport.?

Here are some of the highlights from our presenters:?

Tim Parker , Chief Executive Officer, High Speed Rail Authority (Australia) (HSRA) spoke passionately about HSR being a “national investment” that would open up the regions and generate economic growth across the country. Tim argued that Australia’s growing population already justifies a HSR network, with 60 per cent of people concentrated in just 2 per cent of our land mass – along the busiest East Coast transport network that is nearing capacity.??

Michael Kopp , Program Director, Siemens Mobility , talked about the history of the Brightline West high-speed rail in the US connecting Las Vegas with the LA Basin and how its steeper gradient design navigated the Rocky Mountains. The American Pioneer 220 boasts a 30 per cent energy saving from previous generations and travels up to 354km/hr and feature a unique Galley or “party car” with a bar that can be booked exclusively.??

Alice Reis , Principal – Rail, 奥雅纳 said planning future transport networks needs to consider a passenger’s entire journey, understanding their experience and expectations from home to destination and home again.??

Michael Jamieson, Programme Director, Jacobs, spoke about working on HSR2 in the UK. Phase 1 between London and Birmingham covered 225km with 48 kms of tunnels It delivered 30,000 jobs at its peak and was the country’s largest archaeological project. He also spoke about the challenges of the planning and procurement processes.?

Joseph P Schmelzeis, Director, and Tomoyuki Minami, General Manager, at Central Japan Railway Company talked about the key benefits of the Tokaido Shinkansen. It has shaved four hours off the Tokyo to Osaka route, runs within one minute of schedule and travels at 285km/hr over 515km and has had zero fatalities or injuries due to it being a dedicated line. It has an annual ridership of 158 million with 17 departures an hour and an energy consumption of 1/8 of air travel.?

Matt McInnes , Managing Director, Asia Pacific – Lynxx debunked the myth that there is not enough population for HSR. He said for the Newcastle region 62,000 people can reach the centre by public transport within 45 minutes, compared with 650,000 travelling by car. For Sydney, 2.8 million can reach Sydney’s Central Station by public transport, compared with 4.1 million by car within 45 mins.?

Jesus Rodriguez Alonso, Head of Business Development, Talgo, spoke about environmental sustainability and the reduction of carbon emissions in high-speed transportation, with a focus on Spain. He said rail is seven times more energy efficient than road and 15 times more energy efficient than air transport. High-speed rail in Spain saves 41.2 million hours annually for users compared to travel times pre HSR.? Routes are 50 per cent faster and saves 5.7M tonnes of Co2 emissions annually. HSR from 1992-2016 saved society an estimated 4.3 billion euros in climate, pollution, and accident costs v other transport modes. Demand has increased 400 per cent since the introduction of HSR.?

Richard Yeo, Chief Operating Officer, NTRO - National Transport Research Organisation spoke about its role to improve rail safety, deliver a practical pathway to transition to lower emissions, build more resilient transport systems and support innovation.?

Joern Schlichting, Senior Advisor, DB International Operations at GmbH spoke about the HSR experience in Europe. He said the EU targets for 2050 is for 60% of EU citizens to be connected by the HSR network and for cconstruction of new lines and expansion of existing lines for around ? 21,000 additional kilometres.?

Andrew Lezala , Managing Director, Lezala Consulting, said a lightweight train designed to utilise the highway network as an existing corridor would cut costs. He said he would like to see Sydney to Newcastle completed by 2032.??

High speed rail is included in the ARA's Passenger Rail strategic priority. To find out more about faster rail in Australia, please visit https://ara.net.au/priorities/passenger-rail/