The ACT government is making preparations in case it needs to tunnel under Mount Ainslie so a future high speed rail line can have a terminal at the edge of the city.
The controversial idea was raised in a 2013 report published by now Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, when he was transport minister in the Gillard government. That report planned a fast train to connect Sydney to Melbourne by 2065, with Canberra to be built as the first leg and construction beginning this year.
The preferred route to and from Sydney would tunnel through four kilometres of Mount Ainslie, to terminate at a station built on the city fringe at Ainslie Avenue.
An alternative path under consideration would travel through East Canberra to terminate at the Canberra Airport.
The ACT government at the time, under then chief minister and now federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, preferred this second route to the airport.
The current ACT government has recently published a series of draft district strategies, which include the two routes and notes plans to "protect and preserve [their] function and capacity".
Initial work in the ACT would involve investigating the best means of protecting the proposed corridors, through leasing arrangements and planning provisions.
"The Planning Strategy and Transport Strategy have identified the potential for a high speed rail connection into the city centre via the East Canberra district. However, the potential for this infrastructure would be a much longer term prospect than the horizon for this district strategy. It will require more detailed planning and collaboration with stakeholders including the Australian government," the report for the inner north and city said.
Previous consultations with residents of East Canberra, which includes Majura Valley and Jerrabomberra Valley, have identified high value for its Aboriginal heritage and historical assets.
The 2013 report said the Canberra-Sydney link would be the first stage of the network to be built, with work on the project starting in 2022 with a goal to be operational by 2030. However, the Labor government lost power later that year.
While little progress has been made on the national infrastructure plan since Labor first introduced it, a very fast train was pitched then as capable of carrying around 84 million passengers each year.
Trips would take less than three hours between Melbourne and Sydney and between Sydney and Brisbane, travelling at speeds exceeding 250km/h. It said a trip between Canberra and Sydney could take just 64 minutes.
A four-kilometre tunnel to be built under Mount Ainslie was forecast as a top investment. States and territories would share the high-cost national project with the federal government.
The project recently received a boost through the proposed establishment of a High-Speed Rail Authority.
A bill to establish the authority, tasked with developing the network in partnership with the states and the ACT, passed the lower house in September.
An ACT government spokesperson said various high-speed rail routes have been proposed, and Mount Ainslie was one option.
"The draft district strategies put forward a range of initiatives for community consideration," they said.
"These initiatives include short, medium- and long-term ideas, classified according to whether they represent proposed, possible or potential change for that district.
"This initiative is marked as a potential change, in the long-term future."
Recently, fast train aspirations have been redirected north, with $500 million allocated for planning a Sydney to Newcastle route in the last budget.
Transport Minister Catherine King said high-speed rail could bring the east coast capitals closer together.
"This is a visionary investment in opening up our regions to greater opportunity," she said.
"This is a long-term project, but with the pragmatic advice of the High Speed Rail Authority we can take a genuine path forward."
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