2 days ago
Sydney to Newcastle in one hour: is the High Speed Rail on track?
With a motorway and railway line nearing capacity, High Speed Rail Authority CEO Tim Parker believes there is only one clear solution.
Speaking to a Newcastle crowd on August 13, Mr Parker said the proposed East Coast high-speed rail would help alleviate travel woes between NSW's two largest cities.
"Everyone in this corridor has an M1 story, none of them a very good one," Mr Parker said.
The federal government is reviewing the High Speed Rail Authority's business case for a Sydney to Newcastle route, the first stage of a network that would span from Melbourne to Brisbane.
Mr Parker said they were refining the business case and hoping for a decision from the government by the end of the year.
Once the business case was reviewed, Mr Parker said the next stage was to get tenders from builders and rail supply, likely in about two years or so.
The CEO estimated the build period to take between 10 to 12 years.
Modelling shows travel time between Sydney and Newcastle would be one hour, with Newcastle to Brisbane at three hours, and Newcastle to Melbourne at five hours.
In March, the Newcastle Herald reported that the authority estimated the Newcastle to Sydney link could be built by 2037 if the government provided sufficient backing.
There has been no formal costing, although similar projects overseas have cost between $16 million and $110 a kilometre.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported in January that modelling for the previous state Coalition government's fast rail proposal estimated it would be between $27 billion and $32 billion from Sydney Olympic Park to Tuggerah.
On Thursday evening, Mr Parker said as well as delivering the business case to the government in December 2024, they had delivered a product definition report about the types of trains needed.
He said the for-purpose high-speed trains would travel 320 kmh on a dedicated line, meaning fewer delays.
He said the new service would have 98 per cent reliability.
"It is not a metro or suburban line, it is a competitor to the airlines," he said.
The CEO said the fares would be "competitive" with the unsubsidised Sydney train fares and the Newcastle to Sydney Greyhound buses.
He said initially they were hoping they would run four trains every hour, but ultimately run 12 trains an hour between Sydney and Melbourne and eight trains an hour between Sydney and Brisbane.
They were thinking of building eight-car trains with a capacity of 500 seats, he said.
Mr Parker said they planned to build an advanced manufacturing facility to develop components for the rail line off-site.
The project would hopefully incorporate a local manufacturing focus alongside international expertise, he said.
One of the biggest challenges of the long-term project was topographical and building around national parks, he said.
"We will have to develop this environmentally sensitively," he said.
He said while they did not have a definitive list of stations yet, they had looked very closely at Broadmeadow.
"This should be a long-term commitment with bipartisan support," Mr Parker said.
"Hopefully, both sides of politics would understand that it is good for the country and get behind it."
With a motorway and railway line nearing capacity, High Speed Rail Authority CEO Tim Parker believes there is only one clear solution.
Speaking to a Newcastle crowd on August 13, Mr Parker said the proposed East Coast high-speed rail would help alleviate travel woes between NSW's two largest cities.
"Everyone in this corridor has an M1 story, none of them a very good one," Mr Parker said.
The federal government is reviewing the High Speed Rail Authority's business case for a Sydney to Newcastle route, the first stage of a network that would span from Melbourne to Brisbane.
Mr Parker said they were refining the business case and hoping for a decision from the government by the end of the year.
Once the business case was reviewed, Mr Parker said the next stage was to get tenders from builders and rail supply, likely in about two years or so.
The CEO estimated the build period to take between 10 to 12 years.
Modelling shows travel time between Sydney and Newcastle would be one hour, with Newcastle to Brisbane at three hours, and Newcastle to Melbourne at five hours.
In March, the Newcastle Herald reported that the authority estimated the Newcastle to Sydney link could be built by 2037 if the government provided sufficient backing.
There has been no formal costing, although similar projects overseas have cost between $16 million and $110 a kilometre.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported in January that modelling for the previous state Coalition government's fast rail proposal estimated it would be between $27 billion and $32 billion from Sydney Olympic Park to Tuggerah.
On Thursday evening, Mr Parker said as well as delivering the business case to the government in December 2024, they had delivered a product definition report about the types of trains needed.
He said the for-purpose high-speed trains would travel 320 kmh on a dedicated line, meaning fewer delays.
He said the new service would have 98 per cent reliability.
"It is not a metro or suburban line, it is a competitor to the airlines," he said.
The CEO said the fares would be "competitive" with the unsubsidised Sydney train fares and the Newcastle to Sydney Greyhound buses.
He said initially they were hoping they would run four trains every hour, but ultimately run 12 trains an hour between Sydney and Melbourne and eight trains an hour between Sydney and Brisbane.
They were thinking of building eight-car trains with a capacity of 500 seats, he said.
Mr Parker said they planned to build an advanced manufacturing facility to develop components for the rail line off-site.
The project would hopefully incorporate a local manufacturing focus alongside international expertise, he said.
One of the biggest challenges of the long-term project was topographical and building around national parks, he said.
"We will have to develop this environmentally sensitively," he said.
He said while they did not have a definitive list of stations yet, they had looked very closely at Broadmeadow.
"This should be a long-term commitment with bipartisan support," Mr Parker said.
"Hopefully, both sides of politics would understand that it is good for the country and get behind it."
With a motorway and railway line nearing capacity, High Speed Rail Authority CEO Tim Parker believes there is only one clear solution.
Speaking to a Newcastle crowd on August 13, Mr Parker said the proposed East Coast high-speed rail would help alleviate travel woes between NSW's two largest cities.
"Everyone in this corridor has an M1 story, none of them a very good one," Mr Parker said.
The federal government is reviewing the High Speed Rail Authority's business case for a Sydney to Newcastle route, the first stage of a network that would span from Melbourne to Brisbane.
Mr Parker said they were refining the business case and hoping for a decision from the government by the end of the year.
Once the business case was reviewed, Mr Parker said the next stage was to get tenders from builders and rail supply, likely in about two years or so.
The CEO estimated the build period to take between 10 to 12 years.
Modelling shows travel time between Sydney and Newcastle would be one hour, with Newcastle to Brisbane at three hours, and Newcastle to Melbourne at five hours.
In March, the Newcastle Herald reported that the authority estimated the Newcastle to Sydney link could be built by 2037 if the government provided sufficient backing.
There has been no formal costing, although similar projects overseas have cost between $16 million and $110 a kilometre.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported in January that modelling for the previous state Coalition government's fast rail proposal estimated it would be between $27 billion and $32 billion from Sydney Olympic Park to Tuggerah.
On Thursday evening, Mr Parker said as well as delivering the business case to the government in December 2024, they had delivered a product definition report about the types of trains needed.
He said the for-purpose high-speed trains would travel 320 kmh on a dedicated line, meaning fewer delays.
He said the new service would have 98 per cent reliability.
"It is not a metro or suburban line, it is a competitor to the airlines," he said.
The CEO said the fares would be "competitive" with the unsubsidised Sydney train fares and the Newcastle to Sydney Greyhound buses.
He said initially they were hoping they would run four trains every hour, but ultimately run 12 trains an hour between Sydney and Melbourne and eight trains an hour between Sydney and Brisbane.
They were thinking of building eight-car trains with a capacity of 500 seats, he said.
Mr Parker said they planned to build an advanced manufacturing facility to develop components for the rail line off-site.
The project would hopefully incorporate a local manufacturing focus alongside international expertise, he said.
One of the biggest challenges of the long-term project was topographical and building around national parks, he said.
"We will have to develop this environmentally sensitively," he said.
He said while they did not have a definitive list of stations yet, they had looked very closely at Broadmeadow.
"This should be a long-term commitment with bipartisan support," Mr Parker said.
"Hopefully, both sides of politics would understand that it is good for the country and get behind it."
With a motorway and railway line nearing capacity, High Speed Rail Authority CEO Tim Parker believes there is only one clear solution.
Speaking to a Newcastle crowd on August 13, Mr Parker said the proposed East Coast high-speed rail would help alleviate travel woes between NSW's two largest cities.
"Everyone in this corridor has an M1 story, none of them a very good one," Mr Parker said.
The federal government is reviewing the High Speed Rail Authority's business case for a Sydney to Newcastle route, the first stage of a network that would span from Melbourne to Brisbane.
Mr Parker said they were refining the business case and hoping for a decision from the government by the end of the year.
Once the business case was reviewed, Mr Parker said the next stage was to get tenders from builders and rail supply, likely in about two years or so.
The CEO estimated the build period to take between 10 to 12 years.
Modelling shows travel time between Sydney and Newcastle would be one hour, with Newcastle to Brisbane at three hours, and Newcastle to Melbourne at five hours.
In March, the Newcastle Herald reported that the authority estimated the Newcastle to Sydney link could be built by 2037 if the government provided sufficient backing.
There has been no formal costing, although similar projects overseas have cost between $16 million and $110 a kilometre.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported in January that modelling for the previous state Coalition government's fast rail proposal estimated it would be between $27 billion and $32 billion from Sydney Olympic Park to Tuggerah.
On Thursday evening, Mr Parker said as well as delivering the business case to the government in December 2024, they had delivered a product definition report about the types of trains needed.
He said the for-purpose high-speed trains would travel 320 kmh on a dedicated line, meaning fewer delays.
He said the new service would have 98 per cent reliability.
"It is not a metro or suburban line, it is a competitor to the airlines," he said.
The CEO said the fares would be "competitive" with the unsubsidised Sydney train fares and the Newcastle to Sydney Greyhound buses.
He said initially they were hoping they would run four trains every hour, but ultimately run 12 trains an hour between Sydney and Melbourne and eight trains an hour between Sydney and Brisbane.
They were thinking of building eight-car trains with a capacity of 500 seats, he said.
Mr Parker said they planned to build an advanced manufacturing facility to develop components for the rail line off-site.
The project would hopefully incorporate a local manufacturing focus alongside international expertise, he said.
One of the biggest challenges of the long-term project was topographical and building around national parks, he said.
"We will have to develop this environmentally sensitively," he said.
He said while they did not have a definitive list of stations yet, they had looked very closely at Broadmeadow.
"This should be a long-term commitment with bipartisan support," Mr Parker said.
"Hopefully, both sides of politics would understand that it is good for the country and get behind it."
