Australia and the World Past and Present

Australia has discussed high-speed rail for decades but no true Shinkansen-style network has been built because of a combination of economics, geography, politics and population distribution.

The most important difference between Australia and Japan is population density.

Japan has around 125 million people living in an area roughly the size of Victoria and Tasmania combined. The original Shinkansen connected a corridor containing tens of millions of people between Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

Australia has about 28 million people spread across an entire continent. While Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane have substantial populations, the number of potential passengers is much lower than on Japan’s busiest routes.

High-speed rail requires dedicated tracks. It often involves extensive tunnelling and the construction of bridges. The associated costs are high.

A significant portion of the route would require expensive engineering works across the Great Dividing Range, urban areas with high land values and environmentally sensitive regions.

Existing air travel is strong. Australia already has one of the world’s busiest domestic aviation markets. There are regular flights linking the major cities. These are frequent, relatively inexpensive and supported by extensive airport infrastructure.

A high-speed rail network would require Commonwealth funding, the cooperation of multiple state governments and long-term bipartisan political support.

The project would take decades to complete and would span numerous election cycles. Governments often favour projects with shorter timeframes and more immediate political benefits.

Acquiring land presents a problem. In Australia, compensation costs are high, community opposition can delay projects and environmental approvals can a long time.

Building a new dedicated corridor through regional New South Wales and Victoria would involve thousands of landowners and substantial legal processes.

Australia never developed a unified national rail network comparable to Japan’s. Historically, railways were built by individual colonies. Different states adopted different gauges.This legacy has made national rail planning more difficult.

The case for high-speed rail is becoming stronger over time. Australia’s population continues to grow. Sydney and Melbourne are becoming larger and more congested. Governments are increasingly seeking low-emissions transport options and regional cities could benefit from faster connections.

The most likely first stage would be a line linking Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne. That corridor has the highest concentration of population and business travel and most closely resembles the conditions that made Japan’s original Tōkaidō Shinkansen successful.

In short, Australia has not built a Shinkansen-style network primarily because the costs are extremely high relative to the population served.

Japan’s first Shinkansen connected one of the densest and busiest transport corridors in the world.

Australia’s major cities are much farther apart and have far fewer people between them.

The challenge is not so much technological, but whether the economics and politics stack up.