High-speed rail plans have long been promoted by the state government to reduce travel times between Sydney and regional areas such as Newcastle and Wollongong.
However, Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet said the difference in today’s announcement is funding.
Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet announces funding for the high-speed rail project. (9 News)
“It’s been a long time coming, but no one has brought money to the table,” Perrottet said.
“You can’t set a vision for your state if you don’t come up with the required funding.”
The $ 500 million investment means planning to improve rail lines between Sydney and the central coast later this year.
Perrottet did not confirm when the high-speed rail would be completed.
However, he said the funding would go to new electrified railways on the central coast, improvements to the platform and stations at Wyong and Tuggerah and “start” fast rail connections between Sydney, Newcastle and the central coast.
“The start of the construction of ancillary infrastructure will ensure that a faster railway can become a reality,” he said.
The high-speed rail will significantly reduce travel times between regional areas and Sydney. (AAP)
The high-speed train promises that travel time between Newcastle and Sydney will be reduced from two hours to an hour, between the central coast and Sydney in just 25 minutes and between Wollongong and Sydney in 45 minutes.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes added that investment in high-speed rail will “transform accessibility” on the central coast.
The committee’s chief executive, Gabriel Metcalf, said the long-talked-about fastest-track rail plans are starting to pick up speed and welcomed state government funding.
“Better connections across this region, south to Wollongong, north to the central coast and Newcastle, and linking west Sydney, means we will work effectively as a larger global city, with more economic gravitational force, “Metcalf said.
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“It will give people more choices about where they work, where they live and how they move.”
The federal government will match the state government’s investment in high-speed rail, which means total funding for high-speed rail will be $ 1 billion.