Newcastle to Sydney in 60 minutes: $90 billion high-speed rail gets the green light

Imagine boarding a sleek, aerodynamic carriage in Newcastle and stepping onto the platform at Sydney Central just 60 minutes later.

This isn't a pipe dream from a sci-fi novel; it's the $90 billion reality that will soon be carved into the Australian landscape.

A high-speed bullet train network connecting Sydney and Newcastle has been given the green light by the Federal Government.

The High Speed Rail will cut travel times to around one hour from Newcastle to Central Sydney, with travel from the Central Coast to either Sydney or Newcastle reduced to just 30 minutes.

The High Speed Rail Authority will spend the next two years locking in the design, approval processes, scope and cost of the project.

At the end of the process the project will be ready to build.

The government will inject an extra $229.6 million into the development phase, taking its total investment to $659.6 million.

The work on the 191-kilometre route represents the biggest step to date in delivering a rail network that will reshape the Hunter, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Central Coast regions.

"High-speed rail between Newcastle and Sydney will change the way people live, work and travel in our country's most populous region. It will connect the Newcastle and Central Coast communities to Sydney in a way that has never been done before," said Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King.

"The Albanese government is focused on delivery. 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."

As part of the development phase, a range of potential public and private financing options will be assessed. This work will inform a future government investment decision once the project's scope, cost and risk are finalised.

The network will produce more than 99,000 jobs, helping support sectors such as construction, advanced manufacturing and tourism.

It was revealed last week that the Sydney to Newcastle link could cost between $70 billion and $90 billion, three times the previous state government estimates.

The entire high-speed rail network is likely to be the most expensive individual piece of infrastructure ever funded by the federal government.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last week that high-speed rail "absolutely makes sense".

"We're the only inhabited continent on Earth that doesn't have high-speed rail," he said.

"And certainly Newcastle to Sydney to Canberra to Melbourne, makes absolute sense. It's where most of our population is along that corridor. And what makes it financially viable is the economic development along the route."