Transit Newsfile

摘要

On 22 September Commonwealth Minister for Urban Infrastructure, Paul Fletcher, announced that proposals were being sought for the development of business cases to bring faster passenger rail services to Australian urban and regional areas. This announcement was made at the launch of the Faster Rail Prospectus, designed to start the process of bidding to build faster rail services. This initiative will explore improvements to rail connections between cities and surrounding regional areas through $20m in Commonwealth funding to support the development of business cases. Minister Fletcher said the prospectus began the call for proposals process, with the Commonwealth seeking business cases that demonstrate faster rail travel times through new or upgraded rail infrastructure, continuing its commitment to investment in high-quality rail infrastructure. Additionally business cases must outline initiatives that will increase housing choices by opening regional areas, encourage job and career opportunities, and improve access to specialist services for people in regional areas, as well as to major events. Proposals could be made by both state governments and the private sector, including consortium arrangements, submissions for high-level Stage 1 proposals closed on 13 October. The best three proposals will receive Commonwealth co-funding towards business case development, with the final business cases then progressing to Infrastructure Australia for assessment.