Consolidated Land and Rail Australia (CLARA) is preparing a bid for a high-speed rail system that would connect Sydney to Melbourne by a two-hour trip.
The plan, which will be handed to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull within the first half of 2017, proposes running a rail line from Melbourne to Shepparton, which is the first stage of the overall development. This will involve a USD 13 billion cost for the first starge of the proposed high speed rail.
CLARA then advances a 30-year process in which separate lines will be added to the initial Melbourne-Shepparton track, from Canberra, Goulburn and finally completing in Sydney.
By the 2040s, CLARA aims to have a Sydney to Melbourne rail line which, using Japanese Maglev technology, would provide a trip just under two hours between the two cities.
CLARA also wants to create eight sustainable SMART cities – two inland cities in Victoria and a further six in NSW – along the line. According to The Australian, the consortium has already secured almost 20,000 hectares for new development sites along the rail corridor prior to submitting the bid.
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