Race to the Future: Sydney to Newcastle High-Speed Rail Set to Break Ground in Two Years

The ambitious infrastructure project promises to revolutionize travel by linking Newcastle to Sydney’s central business district in just one hour. It also aims to connect the Central Coast to the capital in merely 30 minutes, potentially injecting billions into the economy, according to a government-backed business proposal.

“Introducing High Speed Rail between Newcastle and Sydney will transform how people live, work, and travel in our nation’s most densely populated area,” she remarked.

“This initiative will establish an unprecedented connection between the communities of Newcastle, the Central Coast, and Sydney,” she continued.

He noted, “Despite our vast land and relatively small population, we’re the only inhabited continent without high-speed rail,” during an interview with the ABC.

“Connecting Newcastle to Sydney, then to Canberra and Melbourne, is entirely logical given that the majority of our population resides along this corridor,” he added.

“And what makes it financially viable is the economic development along the route as well that regional economic development.”

The government said today’s announcement would involve “detailed planning work” for a link from Sydney to Newcastle, costing $229.6 million, taking the government’s total investment to $659.6 million for the development phase.

“The High Speed Rail Authority will go metre by metre, to lock in the design, approvals process, scope and cost of the future rail line,” the government said.

“At the end of this two-year process, the project will be shovel-ready.”

The government said it was “the detailed work required to lock in the design, approvals process, scope and cost to ensure major construction contracts can be awarded”.

While there has been some support for a high-speed rail network, some think tanks and experts, including the Grattan Institute, believe such a project is not suitable for Australia.

“Our population is small and spread over vast distances; the countries most like us – Canada and the US – don’t have bullet trains either.”

The government said it would today unveil a business case for the project showing it would boost the Australian economy by $250 billion over the next 50 years and produce more than 99,000 new jobs.

Albanese used his first term as prime minister to establish the High Speed Rail Authority to plan to build a network connecting Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, as well as Newcastle and Central Coast regional lines.

An evaluated business case has proposed construction start by 2027 and completion by 2042.

The HSRA is also looking into potential public and private financing options.

King said the development phase would lay the foundations for the rail link, “ensuring we secure the rail corridor and undertake detailed planning before we start building”.

“Carefully planned, costed and detailed preparation takes time, but it means when construction starts, it is built to last,” she said.

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