Bathurst Business Chamber president Angus Edwards believes the cost of a recent estimate to build a high-speed transit tunnel under the Blue Mountains is “light on”.
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On Wednesday evening, Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested that the cost a high-speed under the mountains would cost roughly $1 billion Australian.
Independent NSW MP Jeremy Buckingham floated the idea to Mr Musk on Twitter, asking the Tesla boss and the Australian Mike Cannon-Brookes how much it would cost to build a 50km tunnel to connect Sydney to the state's west.
“About $15M/km for a two way high speed transit, so probably around $750M plus maybe $50M/station,” Mr Musk – who has more than 24 million followers – replied on Wednesday night.
However, Mr Edwards believes Mr Musk’s estimation would be well below the actual price.
“I think the price that has been put on it, whether in US dollars or Australian dollars, is a bit light on for that type of project, when you’re comparing it to some of the prices for tunnelling in Sydney for rail projects and other things,” he said.
“As a concept, though, tunnelling through the Blue Mountains has always been a concept discussed.
“If there’s some way to achieve that kind of project at that low cost, it warrants plenty of attention and serious consideration.”
At the end of the day, Mr Edwards wants to see commitment from all political parties, at both state and federal levels of government, to support a high-speed transit from the Central West to Sydney.
“Improving the transport links to Sydney are essential,” he said.
“What it requires is commitment from all political parties, at both levels of government, to get a project like that off the ground.
“From our understanding, that kind of commitment isn’t there at the moment.”
Currently, the Blue Mountains can only be crossed via Bells Line of Road or the Great Western Highway.