High speed rail has been given a federal funding boost of $230 million and two-year deadline for the start of work on a Sydney-Newcastle line.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio this morning (February 24) that the money will be spent on “detailed, metre-by-metre planning, looking at the design, approval process, scope and the cost to make the project shovel-ready” over two years.
“We know that the corridor between Newcastle and Sydney contains a large portion of the population and is continuing to grow,” he says.
“We know also that the motorway and existing railway that’s there — that frankly is way out of date — will be at capacity.”
He says the line will unlock housing, create thousands of jobs and generate tens of billions of dollars in new economic activity.
“Part of the work that will be undertaken is looking at potential public and private financing options,” Albanese says.
“I think in order for this to proceed, it would require significant private funding and that is something that will be examined as part of this whole process of getting it right.”
RAIL URBAN CORRIDOR
Academic professor Chris Pettit Director, of UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre, says the line is a logical progression for the Sydney-Newcastle corridor.
“High Speed Rail (HSR) represents the logical backbone infrastructure for South-East Australia’s emerging urban growth corridor, linking Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne,” he says.
“It has the capacity to unlock the economic and housing potential of key regional centres including Newcastle, Albury–Wodonga and Shepparton.
“The Sydney–Newcastle corridor presents a strategically sound first stage in delivering this nationally significant project,” he says.
Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King says HSR will change lives, work and travel in the region.
“Carefully planned, costed and detailed preparation takes time, but it means when construction starts, it is built to last.”
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The new rail line will see trains travel up to 320km/h between Sydney and Newcastle, cutting travel times to around one hour and travel from the Central Coast to Sydney/Newcastle to 30 minutes.
The $230m funding is part of a $659.6m package to ensure that Line 1 will be construction ready in 2028.
This initial funding will be spent on detailed work to lock in the design, approvals process, scope and costing to ensure major construction contracts can be awarded.
A business case for the project claims it will boost the national economy by $250 billion over 50 years and create over 99,000 new jobs. Click here to read the business case for the project.
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