Concept Plan of Canberra to Eden Railway
Engineers Australia - Concept Plan of Canberra to Eden Railway
ACRWORLD, on behalf of Transport Australia Society, were delighted to host a great evening of presentations and discussions around one of the new proposed rail routes from Canberra to Eden. It was a great to see a full house and thanks to everyone for coming and participating in the discussion and networking.
About the talk
Edwin Michell (Presentation Speaker), who has developed the plan for the Cooma and Monaro Progress Association, and Richard Hopkins (Introduction Speaker) gave a fantastic and very informative presentation. It outlined the proposed new route and detailed the phases of the project. The first phase; Canberra to Cooma, budgeted at $386 million would stick largely to the original route planned by Charles Scrivener in 1905. The second phase would then take the rail route through to Bombala, budgeted at $261 million. The final stage would be from Bombala to Eden, estimated to cost $1.06 billion. The latter stage would also represent the biggest challenge; managing the 800 m descent to sea level at the South Coast Range from Bombala.
With travel time estimated at 2hours 19 minutes via the railway, compared to the 3 hours 11 minutes by car, it would save 52 minutes. Furthermore, if the ACT population increase of 9000 per year (as of last year) continues, there is likely to be an increase in the population that settles in commuter towns and outside of the city. Mr. Mitchell estimates that if just 5% of the population growth settle in commuter towns, within 3 years there would be [an estimated] 1500 return trips per day.
The new route, from the conceptual plans, would provide plenty of additional services and accessibility for remote areas and would be up to 30% faster than driving. Furthermore, the feasibility and R.O.I appear extremely positive and full ownership would be handed to the government by 2056 (30 years after it becomes fully operational). Finally, it would open up the Port of Eden to new infrastructure and offer relief to the growth restricted ports of NSW. What are your thoughts on a proposed route from Canberra to Eden? Could this be the realisation of a century old dream? Or is it an unrealistic proposal?
ACRWORLD regularly host Engineers Australia and Transport Australia Society; If you are interested in attending future events please let me know.
Alternatively if you are looking for new opportunities within the rail industry, or know someone who may be, please do not hesitate to get in touch. ACRWORLD have a dedicated rail team and recruit extensively for Government Transport and Contractors/Consultancies.