Bungendore to Mt Fairy

North of Bungendore, the line encounters rolling countryside with a few substantial hills that must ideally be avoided. There are fewer sections of the existing alignment with minimum radius under 1000m (the smallest radius at which 200km/h is possible with tilting trains). We are therefore able to use the existing…

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Goulburn approach

The final sector on the Canberra Line is the run into Goulburn, a major regional centre for which access is a priority. The existing line diverges from the Main Southern Line just south of the city, however existing radii are tight at approximately 240m. There are several options for high-speed entry…

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Mulwaree Valley

This is what Hot Rails is all about – twenty-two kilometres of near-straight, near-flat railway corridor just begging for some trains that can really take advantage of it. We don’t need to do anything to this alignment – just upgrade and duplicate the existing track, put in some decent fences…

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Lake Bathurst Valley

The line winds between hills, road and river in the picturesque Lake Bathurst valley, with the minimum radius of 800m of the first few curves unfortunately not quite meeting our requirements. Despite being wedged between highway and hillside, most of the curves do not turn through a very great angle,…

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Mt Fairy to Tarago

This sector follows the existing alignment through the Mulwaree River valley. While the first half is straight and uses the existing alignment exclusively, subsequently two minor deviations (albeit requiring four bridges) are required to straighten some very tight curves. Major earthworks are confined to the final few kilometres before Tarago. Alignment…

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Rollingstock

http://kate-harrison.com/news/writer-in-residence-on-virgin-trains-plus-great-competition

Although it is probable that rollingstock will be constructed specifically for any new HSR-capable railroads, it is far cheaper to develop a variant of an existing class of railcar than an entirely new design. This post will look at some of the existing technology that might fit our needs. The…

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