Will Albo finally turn Australia’s biggest pipe dream into reality? Anthony Albanese doubles down on his ‘obsessive’ vision for high-speed rail in deep chat with Japanese PM
- Mr Albanese touted his high-speed rail ‘vision’ at the Quad meeting in Tokyo
- The leader said it had been an ‘obsessive’ dream of his to connect the east coast
- The 350km/hr ride would cost $500 million from Labor’s first budget
Anthony Albanese has revealed his dream for high-speed rail in Australia, in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday.
The new prime minister spoke to Mr Kishida about his fast rail ‘vision’ at the annual Quad summit in Tokyo.
Mr Albanese admitted he was ‘obsessive’ about high-speed rail after the two world leaders spoke about their goal to keep the region ‘free, open and peaceful’.
The trains would be expected to reach speeds of up to 350km/h between east coast cities and should have a positive economic impact on smaller communities along the route
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with his counterpart, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, on Tuesday (pictured) and spoke about defence, strategic relations and the energy outlook
‘I think there is great prospect for greater economic cooperation across a range of areas including – one that my foreign minister (Penny Wong) knows is particularly an obsessive one of mine – my vision for high-speed rail,’ Mr Albanese said in a video, obtained by Reuters.
Mr Albanese also spoke about his aspirations for moving towards green hydrogen with our regional neighbours.
‘I see an enormous opportunity in doing what our countries have done for LNG in other areas including in green hydrogen,’ Mr Albanese told Mr Kishida in the meeting.
Mr Albanese also held his first meeting as leader with US President Joe Biden prior to his meeting with Mr Kishida.
Australia’s 31st prime minister flew to Tokyo to attend his first Quad summit, which was attended by other leaders from the United States, Japan and India on Monday.
Mr Albanese’s high-speed rail comments are not new – the PM has repeatedly spoken about the prospect and said last January it would be one of Labor’s top priorities if the party was elected.
The promised Melbourne to Brisbane bullet train would stop in areas along the east coast, including Sydney, Canberra and Newcastle.
Mr Albanese at the time flagged establishing a High Speed Rail Authority and said the $500million fast trains would run at speeds of up to 350km/h.
The cash injection is expected to be a part of Labor’s first budget since winning office.
‘If I’m elected prime minister, I want ours to be the first government which gets work underway on high-speed rail… creating jobs and connecting communities up and down the east coast of Australia overcoming the tyranny of distance,’ he said.
Mr Albanese said that no country had equalled the vision Japan has had with their world-famous Shinkansen trains, which reach a top speed of 320 km/hr.
The Shinkansen Trains network has been around for more than 50 years, and have connected remote regions with the country’s capital, boosting economic growth.
350km/hr bullet trains could be the way forward for Australia’s East Coast travellers