A tale of two different rail cities

Rather than facing up to the difficult task of real reform designed to make the current service less of a drain on taxpayers and more reliable for commuters, the NSW Government is pressing ahead with the sexy idea of the metro.

Now, it should be pointed out that the Victorian Government also has a metro proposal in its Transport Plan and has, in recent days, called tenders to undertake feasibility studies. Not only is this a more cautious approach to a metro, but because they have a much more efficient existing network, Victorian taxpayers can more easily afford major new capital works. Further, judging by the first round of Infrastructure Australia spending, Victoria is also more likely to attract Commonwealth funding to its more realistic proposals.

If the Sydney metro project proceeds, it will just add to the amount of money that has been wasted in the past decade by the nation’s worst performing public transport system. To its credit, the NSW Opposition has opposed the metro, but if the Government is able to stick to its timeline, contracts will have been signed, and construction commenced, before NSW voters finally go to the polls in March, 2011.

The need to pay for the metro will only add to the necessity for the Opposition to include privatisation as a key element of its Transport Policy. Given the experience with electricity, one might not be optimistic, but the fact that the NSW Government and Opposition are now both supporting the privatisation of NSW Lotteries, may be a hopeful sign that privatisation of public transport services is a realistic hope.

If it isn’t, NSW taxpayers and commuters will continue to be big losers compared to their Victorian counterparts.