Link up down under
Sir - Your report that Australian businessmen are planning a 4000 km 250 km/h Melbourne - Darwin line (RG 5.97 p282) will arouse a degree of scepticism among many of your readers.
The most needed railway in Australia is from Alice to Tennant Creek, about which the politicians have been prevaricating for an unconscionably long time. It is difficult to reconcile this attitude with the speed, excellence and dedication shown in unifying the gauge of the trans-continental line. There must be a reason for the delay north of Alice, yet none is proffered.
Tennant Creek might also be the area in which a line west from Queensland could join up. The onward line might then be built north to Daly Waters, Katherine and Darwin - Australia’s Asian Gateway - and subsequent traffic patterns would soon reveal where future expenditure might best be allocated.
Roger Lascelles
Brentford, Great Britain
