Border Rail Action Group spokesman Bill Traill said as a long-time supporter of high-speed rail, Mr Fischer’s shift in positions towards backing a faster service on the existing line would add some weight to a more realistic outcome.

Former member for Farrer Mr Fischer has accepted that as desirable as high-speed rail would be, it is simply not a realistic option, certainly not any time soon and arguably in a country as vast as ours, ever.

Mr Fischer has now given his public support for a faster service on the existing line.

Unlike the ambitious high-speed rail vision, a faster service would seem to be a perfectly reasonable expectation on the part of long-suffering rail users.

It is true to say that high-speed rail would change our way of life. But it is also true to say that a faster and reliable service could also change our lives, albeit on a much smaller scale.

For commuters who have had to tolerate an unreliable and slow train service, we’ll take any real improvements we can get.