ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr takes slow train to Sydney to prove case for faster rail

So perhaps it was fitting that the Chief Minister's train was delayed by more than an hour after the Xplorer got stuck behind a freight train coming into Canberra.

Left waiting at the Kingston railway station, Mr Barr said the delay highlighted why he wanted to work with the NSW government on a joint bid to attract federal investment and speed up the trip between the two capital cities.

In last week's federal budget, the Turnbull government announced a $10 billion national rail program, which included $20 million to progress business cases for faster rail links between major cities and regional centres.

Mr Barr said this was a once-in-a-generation chance to get the line up to speed.

"This rail service is too slow, it's not competitive with road transport,' Mr Barr said.

"If the train journey were able to be reduced in time to anything three hours or less it would be competitive with current transport alternatives so I think with a relatively modest investment in the rolling stock, some signalling improvements and some work that can be undertaken on the line itself you could achieve that reduced travel time."

"I've observed before the Prime Minister loves public transport, loves to take selfies on trains. Wouldn't it be fantastic if the prime minister could get from Kirribilli to The Lodge via rail, possibly even a light rail connection from here past the lodge?"

Mr Barr said the current service served a "niche" audience - people who had the luxury of time.

While the current passenger numbers were enough to support the current three services a day, he said a new and faster train would encourage more people to take the train.

"This is a major opportunity, one that may only come around every couple of decades so why not take it?" Mr Barr said.

While Mr Barr acknowledged the territory's contribution to any rail line upgrade would pale in comparison to that of NSW, he said the ACT could "add value" in other ways.

"We wouldn't be able to invest in improving the rail line on the NSW side of the border but we could certainly take responsibility for improvements on the ACT side and we can look to work with the NSW government around a procurement decision on the rolling stock," Mr Barr said.

"I wouldn't envisage there'd be a significant investment from the ACT government because the service is one principally run by NSW but what I'm saying is we can contribute and we would be interested in doing so, particularly if we could leverage through a three-government approach to a better outcome on this service."

Mr Barr said, while he was open to discussions about how to link the ACT into a high-speed rail line from Brisbane to Melbourne, his focus was to speed up the existing Canberra line.

"I understand a lot of people are very keen to make the leap from the 19th century system we have now to a 21st century system that travels at an extraordinary speed, but for a relatively low cost we can bring Canberra-Sydney rail services into the 20th century and get something that is competitive and I think we can pursue that realistically over the next few months and years," Mr Barr said.