High-speed rail could be viable: Albanese FORMER deputy prime minister Tim Fischer says a high-speed rail (HSR) line between Brisbane and Melbourne would be expensive, but would provide untold benefits to the economy. Transport Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday is expected to release a study into the proposed HSR project, which could cost more than $100 billion and take decades to get up and running. The project would transform the way people living along the eastern corridor - about two thirds of Australia's total population - live and work, he said. Mr Albanese has written to the states to discuss funding, and form a HSR advisory group to advance the issue further. Mr Fischer, who has written extensively about HSR, said Japan's Shinkansen or "Bullet Train" had been operating nearly 50 years with zero fatalities. "High speed rail is a bold vision for Australia but it is routine technology," he told AAP on Thursday. Let the debate begin. The project would cost the equivalent of about two Snowy Mountains schemes, he said, but would greatly boost decentralisation and the Australian economy. Mr Albanese said the federal government was serious about a future HSR line, but the project would require a "substantial investment." The study concluded such a project could be financially viable, and return about $2.30 to Australia's economy for every $1 invested. Once fully operational, it's estimated the line could carry 84 million passengers per year, but Mr Albanese conceded that could be decades away. "There's no doubt that for a project which is 1700km long, that would involve some 144km of tunnelling, that it would take time for construction to commence," Mr Albanese told ABC radio on Thursday. It's expected fares between the city hubs would mirror current prices for air travel, so people shouldn't hold out for $20 tickets between Sydney and Melbourne. "That isn't realistic," Mr Albanese said. Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury said the project was a "monumental task" that would take some time, but the end result would be worth it. "If people do what has always occurred in the past and put this in the 'too-hard basket' then the answer is it will never happen," he told Sky News. Shadow assistant treasurer Mathias Cormann said Labor had a track record of making grand gestures without actually delivering anything. "This government will never be able to deliver anything near this sort of project," he said. The Australasian Railway Association said the price tag was significant but high-speed rail would be a "game-changer" that would open up regional areas and change the way we lived. The $114 billion would also be spread over many years as the rail network was built in its various stages.