The successful tenderers have now been revealed for eight works packages to support the delivery of the Sydney to Newcastle Business Case for the High Speed Rail Authority.
The successful companies will help the High Speed Rail Authority to plan and develop the East Coast High Speed Rail Network, connecting Sydney, Central Coast and Newcastle.
The successful tenderers are as follows: KPMG (Project Control Services (Costs, Schedule and Risks), EY (Economics, Funding and Financing, Demand Modelling and Economic Development Strategy, as well as Commercial, Delivery Strategy and Industry Engagement), WSP (Transport, Land Use and Property), WSP and Arcadis (Technical Advisory, Environment and Sustainability, Community and Stakeholder Engagement), Arup (High Speed Rail Network Operations Planning), GHD (First Nations Participation and Engagement, as well as First Nations Culture and Heritage).
The business case will determine important elements of the network, including proposed corridor alignment, station locations, fleet, cost estimate and construction timeframes.
The first major milestone will be progressing with onsite studies like geotechnical investigations to test ground condition. This will help inform high-speed rail corridor alignment and station locations. The business case is expected to be presented to Government by the end of this year.
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The Federal Government has already committed $500 million for the planning and corridor protection of the Sydney to Newcastle section, and established the High Speed Rail Authority to conduct the work independently.
A high speed rail network will allow passengers to travel between major cities and regional cities at speeds exceeding 250 kilometres per hour.
A competitive open tender process sought industry experts with extensive experience in planning and delivering major infrastructure projects like high-speed rail. These works packages were released to market on March 15.
An industry briefing was held on Wednesday 27 March 2024 with 350 participants. The session was an opportunity for industry to learn more about the program’s milestones and demonstrate interest in the project.
With 14.9 million passengers annually, Sydney to Newcastle is the busiest intercity rail line in Australia.
