Ms King’s media briefing at Newcastle with local MP Sharon Claydon to announce the High Speed Rail Authority’s call out for experts tasked to finalise the business case discussed the significant contributions the $500M rail network planning would bring to the Central Coast.
Ms King cited the HSRA’s observation of the United Kingdom’s two high-speed rail networks from London to Birmingham that would model the 250km per hour Sydney-Central Coast-Newcastle fast rail network.
As federal infrastructure minister, Ms King oversees the HSRA and on their trip, she said both the engineering aspects and economic opportunities they’ve seen impressed them.
“I’ve had the great opportunity of having a look at High Speed Rail 1 and 2 over in the UK, and the transformation that High Speed Rail 2 is seeing in Birmingham where you’ve got major companies taking their headquarters out of London to locate in Birmingham,” Ms King said.
“That’s the sort of thing we see the opportunity of high speed rail making not just for Newcastle but also the Central Coast.”
The experts who’d be selected would be putting together the network plan “to get every element right” because the business case is due before the year ends, Ms King said.
“We are serious about getting high speed rail from Newcastle to Sydney, to get every element of this right from planning to financing to understanding the [trains] route, the technology to be used, and how we look at that as [an] important passenger service.
“This is not just about trains, it’s actually about the economic development of Newcastle and the Hunter as a whole.”
The Sydney-Newcastle high speed rail corridor is significant to the Central Coast because it will absorb some of the projected 1.2 million residents by 2040, the HSRA projections said.
These incoming residents would be needing greenfield housing, jobs and transport options in key suburbs such as Gosford, Tuggerah, Wyong and Lake Macquarie.
Currently, an estimated 14.9 million commuters use this route travelling for two and a half hours one way on the train, and the high-speed network would cut that travel time to an hour each way.
Robertson MP Dr Gordon Reid said among the Albanese government’s top priority in his electorate are transport, roads and local infrastructure development as a fast-growing region next door to Sydney.
“High speed rail is such an exciting opportunity for our region, not just for the connection to Sydney but for what it represents for the economy of the Central Coast,” Dr Reid said.
“The rail route between Sydney and Newcastle is the most popular route in Australia, and it’s only set to grow with the advent of high speed rail.
“And as it grows, so too will the Central Coast, meaning more local jobs, more housing for residents and more opportunities for the community.”
More than 400,000 local jobs are expected to be generated for the regions along the Sydney-Central Coast-Newcastle high speed rail network’s construction phases at various stages.
Dr Reid visited some of the new 29 projects sites sharing in an $86.5 million Central Coast Roads Package under the new budget, on top of the $100M Avoca Drive Upgrade earlier funded by the federal government.
“Local roads across Robertson are under increasing demand as more people choose to call the Central Coast home which is why this funding boost is fantastic news for our community,” Dr Reid said.
“Without our record funding increases, local projects across the Central Coast wouldn’t get off the ground which is why I’m excited we can continue to build a better future in Robertson and deliver what the community deserves.”
Currently in progress are 46 projects funded with more than $40M under the Roads to Recovery Program.
These projects include the Debenham Road South at West Gosford, Erina Valley Road at Erina, Hillcrest Street at Terrigal, and The Scenic Road at MacMasters Beach to make them safer for these growing coast suburbs.
