{"id":646998,"date":"2026-05-03T13:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/646998\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T13:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:42:32","slug":"australias-90-billion-high-speed-rail-plan-faces-major-hurdles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/646998\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia’s $90 billion high-speed rail plan faces major hurdles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia is making its biggest push yet for high-speed rail, with a $90 billion plan to connect Newcastle<\/a> and Sydney<\/a> in just one hour, but experts warn the ambitious project faces massive challenges that could see it fail like every proposal before it.<\/p>\n

The nation\u2019s newest passenger trains are capable of speeds of 160km\/h but are limited to 130km\/h \u2014 and sometimes just 80 between NSW\u2019s<\/a> biggest cities \u2014 because of tracks that date back to the 19th century.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Australia\u2019s $90 billion high-speed rail gamble<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey were designed in Victorian days,\u201d said Tim Parker of the High Speed Rail Authority. \u201cIt\u2019s got gradients, it\u2019s got turns and curves. It doesn\u2019t matter what train you put on that alignment, you\u2019ll never do much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, around 30 countries now have high-speed rail, with Japan recently marking 60 years of its Shinkansen bullet train, which travels at up to 320km\/h. Europe is led by Spain\u2019s 4000km network, while China claims a staggering 50,000km.<\/p>\n

In Australia, high-speed rail has been proposed many times since the 1980s, then postponed as too costly and not viable.<\/p>\n

The latest plan would cut the current two-and-a-half hour journey<\/a> between Newcastle and Sydney to just one hour, then extend out to Western Sydney Airport. It would take more than a decade to construct for at least $90 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see this very much as a regional economic stimulus,\u201d Parker said, predicting it will deliver thousands of new homes and jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to really incentivise Australians to get out of their car. And I think a high-speed train will do that,\u201d one advocate said.<\/p>\n

But the challenging terrain means at least 70km of tunnels, making it the most tunnelled high-speed rail line in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have more experience with tunnelling, and tunnel boring machines have gotten better. But this is a significant leap,\u201d said Professor David Levinson from the University of Sydney\u2019s School of Civil Engineering.<\/p>\n

Professor Levinson warned the cost per kilometre is higher than any other high-speed rail in the world, including California\u2019s<\/a> troubled project.<\/p>\n

The High Speed Rail Authority says it\u2019s learning from overseas experience and has put the system design out to tender, with interest from organisations in 17 nations.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe fastest trains in NSW are capable of 160km\/h speeds but often travel at just half that. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

An expanded high-speed network would eventually offer Sydney to Melbourne<\/a> in four hours and Sydney to Canberra<\/a> in 90 minutes, but not until around 2060.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese<\/a> acknowledged the long timeline:<\/p>\n

\u201cI will not be the Prime Minister when high-speed rail is finished,\u201d he said earlier this year. \u201cBut I am determined to be the Prime Minister who starts it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final decision on whether to proceed will be made in two years.<\/p>\n

Right now, the fastest way to travel by train between Sydney and Brisbane<\/a> takes 14 hours and six minutes. The high-speed rail dream would cut the 900km journey to just four hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery country that has high speed is looking to expand it,\u201d Parker said, pointing to the success of the Eurostar, where \u201cno one now flies from London<\/a> to Paris<\/a>\u201d because the train has become \u201ca game changer.\u201d<\/p>\n

But with costs certain and benefits uncertain, Australia\u2019s high-speed rail dream faces its toughest test yet.<\/p>\n

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