Mobility in parliament

High Speed Rail represents as exciting future for domestic Australian travel. The current dominance of air travel and the constant need for travel between Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane has resulted in a high competitive yet environmentally irresponsible method of transport. HSR is an alternative which is much better for the environment, with lower emissions per person for each kilometre travelled, but comparable when one considers the time air travel can take. Not only do you have to arrive at the airport much earlier than your flight, the location of airports on the fringes of cities means that travel to and from the airport itself can take up a significant portion of your total travel time. HSR solves this problem by being able to deliver passengers directly into the heart of a city, ready for whatever their day may bring.


There is also a possibility, that with a little innovation, HSR would enable parliament itself to become a more mobile entity, not only opening the doors of Canberra but drawing it out to other cities and centres along the east coast of Australia. In our project, we intend to have a modular train with pods that are able to be interchanged and moved to allow the train to have greater use for the everyday person through to Ms Gillard herself. These pods would contain either offices, private suites, passenger carriages and places for debate, among other things. When not in use in the actual train itself, it is hoped that these pods will be able to seamlessly integrate into the architecture of any of the stations along the route of the train and create temporary spaces for community engagement in politics.