With the federal election planned for 18th May 2019, surely this is a great time to pay attention to the key policies and strategies that the current government (Liberal party) and the opposition (Labour party) have included in their campaigns with regards to rail. Here is an overview of the rail plans that will feature in the 2019 federal election.

Government plans:

• First stage of Western Sydney North South rail link
• Fast rail between Melbourne and Geelong
• Plan upgrades to regional rail networks
• Planning of up to five new corridors for fast rail- Sydney to Wollongong, Sydney to Parkes via Bathurst and Orange, Melbourne to Albury-Wodonga, Melbourne to Taralgon and Brisbane to the Gold Coast
• Establishment of a National Fast Rail Agency to provide advice to the Government on fast rail, and lead the development of business cases

Opposition plans:

• Cross River Rail in Brisbane
• Western Sydney Metro
• Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne
• METRONET in Perth
• Phase 2 of ACT light rail
• 1 in 10 people employed on Commonwealth funded infrastructure projects must be an apprentice
• Labor has previously committed to create a High Speed Rail Planning Authority to undertake, planning and corridor acquisition of Brisbane-Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne High Speed Rail.