Newcastle Airport will have no connection to East Coast High Speed Rail under current proposals, the Transport Minister has confirmed.
The High Speed Rail Authority has published its business case for the first stage of the project, which would link Newcastle to Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) via Lake Macquarie, the Central Coast, Central Sydney and Parramatta, with construction potentially starting in 2029.
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Speaking to ABC Radio in Newcastle, Transport Minister Catherine King said Newcastle Airport, which recently began international operations, would not be in line for a high-speed rail location, but that the government would consider other transit connections.
“That’s not the proposal to bring high-speed rail to Newcastle Airport. It’s actually about trying to consider that connection between Newcastle and Sydney by rail,” he said.
“Obviously, in terms of public transport, if the NSW Government wants to put forward proposals to look at how they could create other alternatives to the airport, we’d be happy to look at those, but we don’t have any proposals before us at the moment.”
Stages 1A to 1B would connect Newcastle to Sydney Central Station, with 1C then joining the line to WSI via Parramatta. The aim is for the line to eventually connect Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra, with trains traveling at speeds of around 200km/h in the tunneled sections and higher speeds elsewhere.
Estimates say it would allow travel between Newcastle and WSI in less than 90 minutes, with future phases potentially linking Sydney to Canberra in 90 minutes and Sydney to Melbourne in four hours.
According to the business case, the project “will boost the Australian economy by $250 billion over the next 50 years and generate more than 99,000 new jobs.” It will now move into a two-year, $659.6 million development phase, with the first stage estimated to cost around $90 billion.
“High-speed rail between Newcastle and Sydney will change the way people live, work and travel in the most populous region of our country. It will connect the communities of Newcastle and the Central Coast to Sydney in a way that has never been done before,” Minister King said in a statement.
“The Albanese Government is focused on delivery. This phase of development will lay the foundation for the delivery of high-speed rail between Newcastle and Sydney, ensuring we secure the rail corridor and undertake detailed planning before starting construction.
“Carefully planned, budgeted and detailed preparation takes time, but that means when construction begins, it is built to last.”
Newcastle Airport has been contacted for comment.
