The Goulburn Group issues transport challenge to election candidates

The advocacy group is calling on the state government to immediately start the Canberra to Sydney line's upgrade, allowing speeds of up to 200km/h.

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Member Peter Fraser, a semi-regular train traveller, doesn't hold back in his assessment.

"It's pathetic," he said.

"... A rail line that connects the country's capital with its largest city that at times can only allow a permanent speed of 30km/h (Bungendore to Canberra) and where many sections have an 80km/h permanent speed limit is a national disgrace."

"The poor condition of rail lines, delays caused by constant speed restrictions due to maintenance issues, rolling stock that is at best 50 years old and inappropriate timetables further discourage rail passenger patronage from Goulburn in either direction, as travel times are simply too long for most people."

His comments are included in a nine-page submission to Transport for NSW' Draft South-East and Tablelands Regional Transport Plan.

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The group is also lobbying for major repairs to the Hume Highway between Goulburn and Campbelltown and southward.

Mr Fraser said both issues should be firmly on Goulburn candidates' agenda for the March 25 election. He described it as one of the "most challenging and neglected" areas of policy.

He argued trains were frequently limited to 30 to 40km/h on the Canberra to Sydney rail line and there were only three sections between Sydney and Albury where passenger trains could reach their 160km/h top speed.

In contrast, tilt trains on the electrified Brisbane to Rockhampton line could do 200km/h and Victorian rail line upgrades enabled 160km/h speeds. Passenger numbers had doubled as a result, Mr Fraser's submission stated.

In NSW, The Guardian revealed that the state government had "quietly abandoned" its vision to build a high-speed rail link between Sydney and Newcastle. It came after $100 million spent on studies. Instead, the publication stated that confidential documents showed the State now considered further planning and construction a job for the federal government.

Mr Fraser said governments had been talking for too long. He also criticised the draft plan's references to further investigations and intentions but "little concrete action" and maintained rail and road transport had deteriorated since the NSW government's master plan 11 years ago.

"Regional NSW is really missing out," he said.

"My hope this election is that someone starts talking about rail but in the end, talking is not enough. They've been talking about it for 30 years and have done zero.

"The truth is that if you upgrade rail lines it will increase the population of regional areas."

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Liberal candidate and sitting Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman said as premier, Gladys Berejiklian had commissioned a report on faster rail.

"Goulburn to Sydney was a part of that plan," she said.

"I know the government is focused on Sydney to Newcastle and then Sydney to Canberra."

She denied that the Sydney to Newcastle line had been "scrapped." Premier Dominic Perrottet also said this week that it remained a goal.

Mrs Tuckerman said scheduling passenger trains with freight remained a problem between Sydney and Canberra.

"The speed (with passenger trains) is an issue and we're working towards that and I continue to advocate for this region to ensure it's delivered a lot sooner," she said.

Labor's Michael Pilbrow has also cited transport as a key election issue.

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The submission also stated the left lane of the Hume Highway to Sydney has been in "bad condition for 20 years or more." Road travel for passenger vehicles had become "increasingly dangerous, with significant increases in the number of freight trucks, especially B-doubles, which also caused major damage to the road surface."

It recommends increasing road freight charges to make them comparable to rail freight costs. The revenue could be spent on major road corridors, based on freight usage, Mr Fraser said.

He recommends that, as a trial, the state government provide incentives to rail freight companies to provide dedicated carriages to transport semi-trailers between Sydney and Melbourne.

His comments came as the state government signed off on Gunlake Quarries' expansion application for its Marulan district operation. It allows 350 outbound and 350 inbound truck movements daily to Sydney.

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