City Briefing 27

A government plan to spend serious money on examining the feasibility of fast trains in Australia, the publication of high profile train buff Tim Fischer's book Trains Unlimited in the 21st Century, airline strikes, and the continuing tyranny of distance make any informed opinion of speedy transport by railway a matter of considerable interest.

Frank Szanto will speak about Not So High-Speed Rail. He will outline the current status of the inter-city rail network in Australia, identify what needs to be done to increase average speeds to compete better against road transport, and assess the prospects for high-speed rail in the longer term.

Frank came to my attention with his very good "Ockham's Razor" program on Radio National in September. He studied science and engineering at Sydney University and has worked for 25 years in the design and manufacture of passenger and freight railway vehicles. He is the Freight Design Manager at Downer Rail.

Discussion will be led by former AIUS chairman Jim Colman, who managed AIUS's study of the Sydney-Canberra corridor in the 1990s.

Frank Szanto's talk will be on Tuesday, 22nd November at 5.00pm and discussion will end as usual at 6.15pm, followed by refreshments for those who can stay. The venue is 1st Floor, Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street (between Park and Bathurst).

We hope you can come to our last meeting of the year.

Bob Solomon
Chairman

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