On this day 25 years ago, the future was not far off in the national capital. It was set to arrive in time for the 2000 Olympic games, linking Canberra to Sydney in 75 minutes.
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![The front page of The Canberra Times on June 4, 1994. The front page of The Canberra Times on June 4, 1994.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/35sFyBanpD896MKnAH5FRtj/dcb46ba6-1607-4e9b-adb0-466f28520b31.jpg/r0_0_3750_5126_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Then ACT chief minister Rosemary Follett and federal Industry Minister Peter Cook had announced joint funding for a fast train feasibility study, with clear excitement for "Speedrail".
Along with speedy travel, passengers would have been able to make the journey for half the price of an aeroplane ticket.
The project, if it had have gone ahead, would have employed 18,000 people for three or four years.
There was a sticking point, however. The NSW government did even give in-principle support.
Speedrail consortium manager Dale Budd said government funding wouldn't be crucial to the project's success.
International financiers were "used to high-speed light rail projects" and "funding shouldn't be excessively difficult", he said.
It wasn't the first attempt to get a very fast raill link built between Canberra and Sydney. In 1991, the $10 billion Very Fast Train found itself on the rails to nowhere when the federal government would not give tax concessions.
See: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/13356349