AUSTRALIA: The High Speed Rail Authority announced on March 3 that it was inviting tenders for consultants and technical advisers to assist with the development of plans for the proposed Central Coast High Speed Rail project in New South Wales.
The federal government had given the go-ahead for a two-year ‘development phase’ on February 24, with the aim of having the design for the Sydney – Newcastle route ready for a start of construction within two years. It also announced an A$229·6m funding package, bringing the total allocation for the project to A$659·6m.
‘Feasible, economically viable and a nationally significant investment’
HSRA had submitted its outline Business Case for the Central Coast HSR in December 2024, and this was subsequently reviewed by Infrastructure Australia.
Responding to IA’s recommendations, the government emphasised that ‘a disciplined approach to planning and construction sequencing’ would be necessary ‘to deliver a project of this size’. It had therefore instructed the authority to finalise the detailed design, approvals process, scope and cost for the project. This would ensure that Line 1 was ‘construction ready’ before any major contracts were awarded.
The authority said its work on the business case had confirmed that the line would be ‘feasible, economically viable and a nationally significant investment’. The government said a ‘range of potential public and private financing options’ would be assessed, adding that the development work was expected to ‘inform a future government investment decision once project scope, cost and risk are finalised’.
HSRA is now inviting ‘specialist organisations from across Australia and around the world’ to provide expert advice during the design phase. It has called bids for seven tender packages covering:
- Technical and Architectural Adviser;
- Business, Operations and Maintenance Adviser;
- Commercial and Transactions Adviser;
- Delivery Partner;
- Strategic Property Acquisition Adviser;
- Environmental Planning and Assessment Adviser;
- Demand Forecasting Adviser.
Route
The proposed route would run from the new Sydney Western Airport to Newcastle, with intermediate stations at Parramatta, Sydney Central, Central Coast and Lake Macquarie.
With the line being designed for a maximum speed of 320 km/h, the government anticipates that the fastest Sydney – Newcastle journey times could be reduced to around 1 h, compared with 2 h 34 min or 2 h 54 min for the hourly semi-fast and stopping services on the existing electrified line.
Built to last
‘High Speed Rail between Newcastle and Sydney will change the way people live, work and travel in our country’s most populous region’, said Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development & Local Government Catherine King. ’It will connect the Newcastle and Central Coast communities to Sydney in a way that has never been done before.
‘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. Carefully planned, costed and detailed preparation takes time, but it means when construction starts, it is built to last.’
