High speed rail could turn the Illawarra and Central Coast into a single city, according to claims in a transport report released on Tuesday by the federal government.
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The report – Harnessing Value, Delivering Infrastructure – came from the House Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities’ inquiry into transport and stimulating growth.
Federal MP John Alexander said improving rail infrastructure could push house prices down – without the government having to end up out of pocket.
“Linking regional towns to their nearest major city via high speed rail will fast-track the supply of affordable housing stock for generations to come,” Mr Alexander said.
“It can be funded by ‘value capture’, not government revenue. This is the major inquiry finding and recommendation.”
Value capture means the government would gain, via taxation, a proportion of any increase in land values as a result of new transport infrastructure.
Included in the report is the efforts of Centurion, a consortium looking to interest the NSW government in high speed rail – including a link between the Illawarra and Campbelltown.
“Centurion was ‘viewing this from infrastructure, urban planning, economic growth and social connectivity’ perspectives, with the potential to turn ‘Wollongong to Newcastle into a city with a population of 10 million, a megacity, to be competitive on a world scale with high-quality, reliable connectivity’,” the report stated.
James McIntosh from transport consultancy LUTI Consulting spelled out the immense benefit to the Illawarra that would come from high speed rail.
“Wollongong is a lovely place. It is a wonderful place to live,” Dr McIntosh.
“But with high speed rail – the current rail system, whilst commendable, is quite slow. If you cut the trip to Wollongong down by, say, half, and you go from a rail speed of, say, 35 to 40km/h, up to 80, then you bring in time Wollongong within the city limits.”
Mr Alexander said the federal government had to take the lead on infrastructure projects like high speed rail.
“A federal ‘value capture’ model is vital to fund a vast array of infrastructure projects,” Mr Alexander said.
“It is essential for the three levels of government to align.”
