Though high-speed operation might have a few rough years in this decade, what this many high-speed lines mean is gaining unrivalled experience.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

Is that not more strongly related to the crisis of the NSW government? Looking at the other urban networks, Perth's had a solid development over the past two decades, and while Melbourne burned its fingers with (and still won't admit the failure of) privatisation, Victoria is investing in projects as big as the Regional Rail Link or Melbourne Metro. (It's still nowhere near Chinese scales, of course.)

AU could easily justify HSR from Melbourne to Brisbane via Canberra and Sydney

Yeah, Australia could have been a Pacific Rim high-speed pioneer, but a certain past PM with Thatcherite positions killed the Sydney-Canberra Speedrail ten years ago -- no wonder Sydney-Melbourne is now the world's third busiest air link. And Kevin Rudd, though promising a rail reviwal in his election campaign and again a spending boost as stimulus, is not too ambitious. I read last month though that there is lobbying from the rail sector:

Political will needed to move high speed rail forward -- Rail Express

"The time has come when HS rail can move people very efficiently, fast and safely with a much lower greenhouse impact than aviation," ARA chief executive Bryan Nye told Rail Express.
"With that in mind, and also bearing in mind the potential route for Australia such as the Sydney-Melbourne corridor being the third busiest air corridor in the world, clearly it is time for Australia to look at HS rail again."
The figures speak for themselves, according to Brett Hughes of Australia's CRC for Rail Innovation, which is currently conducting research into the applicability of HS rail in Australia.
Based on European experience, the potential modal share for HS rail in Australia compared with air travel is estimated to be about 90 per cent Sydney-Canberra, about 70 per cent Melbourne-Canberra and more than 50 per cent Melbourne-Sydney, Hughes said.
The CRC's Dr Michael Charles detailed CRC's research in a presentation to AusRAIL PLUS delegates yesterday, stating that there is definitely "some sort" of political interest germinating around the issue.