Sydney-Melbourne railway could be affordably upgraded to slash travel times to six hours, expert says

The current XPT trains have to slow down on bends but Philip Laird of Wollongong University believes straightening the line is a better option than a high-speed system. Photograph: mikulas1/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Sydney to Melbourne train journey could be slashed from 11 hours down to just six, and at a fraction of the cost of high-speed rail plans, if sections of the track were upgraded for medium-speed rail, a train expert says.

While a high-speed rail line would take decades to build, laying just 200km of new, straighter track to replace an existing 250km stretch of steam-age railway would deliver a quicker service within four years, according to Wollongong University associate professor Philip Laird.