Albanese commits $229.6 million to mega high-speed rail project
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The news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will today commit $229.6 million to commence detailed planning for Stage I of the proposed High Speed Rail project — from Sydney to Newcastle.
The context: Albanese has long championed high-speed rail down the east coast of Australia and, since taking government, has focused on the Sydney-Newcastle leg as the best starting point.
Despite earlier estimates it would cost $30 billion, the Sydney Morning Herald reported last week the cost of the 191km project had blown out to $90 billion, which the government neither confirmed nor denied.
A government statement released on Monday evening says the funding will be used for detailed planning work, with the High Speed Rail Authority to go “metre by metre” to lock in design, approval processes, score and the cost of the project.
It said the project would be shovel-ready within two years and the funding would bring the government’s total commitment so far to $659.6 million for the development phase.
The project is designed to make it possible to travel from Newcastle to Sydney in one hour, with travel from the Central Coast to Sydney or Newcastle down to 30 minutes.
The work will produce 99,000 jobs, the statement said.
What they said: “This development phase will lay the foundations for delivery of High Speed Rail between Newcastle and Sydney, ensuring we secure the rail corridor and undertake detailed planning before we start building,” said Transport Minister Catherine King.
The source: Government statement
