Mr Alexander suggested property in Goulburn now worth $200,000 could be worth $600,000 if it were just a 30 minute train ride from the Sydney CBD.
The real point of a high speed rail line between Sydney and Melbourne is to dramatically recast the population "imbalance" along the eastern seaboard, according to Turnbull government MP John Alexander.
John Alexander, an advocate for fast rail since he entered Parliament in 2010, said high speed rail would "liberate" regional towns, potentially tripling property prices and relieving housing pressure in the capital cities.
He outlined the train line would spark the growth of six to eight cities along the route, using the resulting rise in land values to fund the project.
New train stations would sit near but outside existing townships, including the Southern Highlands, Goulburn and Shepparton, with the areas around those stations rezoned for higher-density development.
While the government is a long way from committing to any such plan, the idea of high speed rail - and in particular, the use of land value capture to finance it - does appear to have found favour with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Previous efforts under Labor to investigate the cost of a high speed rail link between Melbourne and Brisbane found the bill to taxpayers could be as high as $114 billion.
But using value capture, the project is recast as a giant real estate development, largely or fully funded by the increased land values arising from the new infrastructure. The model is frequently used in the United States and major cities such as Hong Kong.
