Trams expanded, trains upgraded, drivers charged: Infrastructure Australia puts forward plan

ADELAIDE’S tram network would be expanded, the Gawler train line upgraded and motorists charged per km driven under a new infrastructure plan put to the Turnbull Government.

ADELAIDE’S tram network would be expanded, the Gawler train line upgraded and motorists charged per kilometre driven under a new infrastructure plan put to the Turnbull Government.

New metro rail systems for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have also been recommended as federal infrastructure priorities by a government agency.

Infrastructure Australia has identified 93 projects for its priority list, along with a 15-year infrastructure plan it says would save Australian households almost $3000 a year by 2040.

Chairman Mark Birrell on Wednesday said the 78 recommendations would deliver more affordable, innovative and competitive energy, telecommunications, water and transport if implemented.

To improve access between the city and Adelaide’s northeast, a rail upgrade to the Gawler line is among the short-term priorities set out in the report.

The expansion of Adelaide’s tram network is prioritised as a medium-term project that would boost the city’s public transport capacity.

The report will be addressed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a speech in Brisbane today.

As for the nation’s roads, it says “innovative” solutions are needed to address urban traffic jams that stifle the economy and infringe on family life.

It suggests a “user-pays” approach to roads should be a priority so that governments can “provide greater fairness and equity in how we pay for roads”.

This could be done by using tracking technology to introduce per-kilometre and time-of-day road-user charges for heavy vehicles in the next five years and for all drivers in the next decade.

It would replace vehicle registration, petrol excise and other road taxes

Motorists would be charged per kilometre under the infrastructure plan put to the federal government

The report recommends a similar user-pays model for public transport, pointing out the vast gulf between what people pay for transport and what it actually costs taxpayers.

A high-speed rail link between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane also remains on the cards, with the report suggesting a corridor be preserved for future development.