A HIGH-tech tunnel through the Blue Mountains built courtesy of Elon Musk would bring the Central West within commuting distance of Sydney, according to upper house MP Jeremy Buckingham.
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A Twitter conversation between the two on Wednesday night revealed the tunnel could be built for as little as $1 billion, including $750 million for the 50-kilometre tunnel and $50 million for each station built along the route.
Commuters access the loop by driving their electric vehicle to a station.
The system undergoing testing in Los Angeles at the moment uses electric cars with autonomous capability and tracking wheels installed to travel at maximum speed between stations.
Musk has also been considering platforms on skates, which cars can drive onto.
Mr Buckingham, who championed a tunnel since he was on Orange City Council, replied it “sounds like a bargain”.
By comparison, Westconnex has cost $16.8 billion to build 33 kilometres of tunnel.
Mr Buckingham said the high-speed option could cut the trip between Lithgow and Penrith to 15 minutes.
“It means you could commute from the Central West to Sydney or people could move to the regions,” Mr Buckingham said.
“Elon Musk says he can tunnel faster and cheaper than anyone else and if he can, it’s a game changer for infrastructure and puts projects like the Blue Mountains tunnel on the table.”
He said the Great Western Highway and the Bells Line of Road would always be 19th Century pieces of infrastructure.
“It’s about time Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange were put on the map – they’re healthy places, but they could be doing a lot better,” he said.
Mr Buckingham said he would pursue the plan during his bid for re-election to the Legislative Council as an independent member, which he said could be delivered for the cost of the Coalition’s stadiums plan.
Roads Minister Melinda Pavey did not respond to a request for comment.
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