Canberra Airport is pushing hard with its campaign

Canberra Airport is pushing hard with its campaign to become Sydney's second airport and this week unveiled a blueprint for a $140-million high speed rail (HSR) facility, to be constructed adjacent to the new airport terminal.

Only weeks after dropping its Supreme Court appeal against the proposed South Tralee residential development alongside Queanbeyan, the airport is hoping the rail proposal will boost its chances of becoming Sydney's second airport.

"We have long been advocates of a high speed rail link between Canberra and Sydney, and that reality is getting closer with strong support from NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and the ongoing stalemate over where to build Sydney's second airport," airport managing director Stephen Byron said.

"The Canberra Airport is proud to present plans for a superb, multi-modal, transport facility to underline the high speed rail's integration into Canberra Airport, in accordance with Premier O'Farrell's vision.

"This terminal will provide a seamless interface for passengers arriving in Canberra by air ready for their 57-minute train trip to Sydney."

Critics of the Canberra as a second Sydney airport strategy point to the distance between the two cities as the biggest hurdle to the venture going ahead. They argue people who want to fly to Sydney won't pay to arrive 300 kilometers away from their destination, to then jump on a train.

Federal member for Monaro Mike Kelly is one who says the move simply isn't viable.

"It's just not near Sydney. That's the biggest problem," Mr Kelly previously told the Queanbeyan Age.

However the airport said it could have the necessary rail link in place by 2020, pending the release of stage two of the Commonwealth's HSR study, due later this year.

"Canberra Airport is committing to funding the HSR terminal project and will be in a position to consider a start date once the timetable for the HSR is confirmed," Mr Byron said.

"We know that Sydney Airport and its surrounding transport infrastructure are already facing capacity issues, and that the Joint Study into Aviation Capacity for the Sydney region advised that passenger demand in the region (including Canberra and Newcastle) will increase from the 2010 level of 40 million to 58 million in 2020 and 88 million by 2035.

"We also know from stage one of the HSR study that patronage demand for regional fast train services to and from Canberra will be 11 million in 2036, that the cost per trip between Canberra and Sydney will be around $40 for non-business and $95 for business."

The airport is predicting transition times between the airport and rail terminals of five minutes for passengers without baggage, and a train trip time of 57 minutes.