ACT Greens today revealed that the ACT Government has made no submission to the Federal Government’s high-speed rail study.

“Rail is a key transport mode for a sustainable Canberra. But the ACT Government gives us talk and no action when it comes to rail,” Greens’ transport spokesperson, Amanda Bresnan said.

“The most recent lack of action by the ACT Government is on high speed rail. Now is a key time for action, given the Federal Government is investigating proposals for an East coast high speed rail network.

Ms Bresnan said last year she asked the ACT Government to consult with the Canberra public about possible high speed rail routes in and out of Canberra and the potential locations for a Canberra high speed rail station.

“I also asked the Government to present a proposal to the Federal Government making a case for the prioritised construction of the Canberra stages of the route,” she said.

“The ACT Government has not done this and, as of January 2012, it has made no submission to the Federal Government regarding high speed rail.

She said she was concerned the ACT Government was “failing to progress opportunities for using rail freight”.

“The Government’s most recent proposal is to defer any action to a future ‘ACT freight strategy’,” she said.

“This is despite the fact that in 2009, the Government already produced a ‘rail masterplan’, which looked at the opportunity for a sizeable ‘intermodal freight hub’ in Canberra which would facilitate rail freight.

“With the ACT Government continuing to focus on road freight and the Majura Freeway, we will miss out on future benefits that come from rail projects in the region.

“The approach of the ACT Greens would be to start prioritising rail freight, which is safer and more sustainable than road freight.”