BY CHARLIE PROUDLOCK
The business case for the High Speed Rail project has been released to the public today.
Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King visited Newcastle early this morning to announce the next phase of the major project.
She said the federal government would be injecting an extra $229.6 million into the development phase, increasing its total investment to $659.6 million overall.
The High Speed Rail Authority will use the next two years to lock in the design, approval processes, scope and costs.
Estimated to cost up to $90 billion, it's likely to be one of the most expensive pieces of infrastructure funded by the federal government so far.
It comes as a major step forward in the development, set to revolutionise travel between Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Central Coast and Sydney.
Minister King said the project will provide a range of benefits to local communities.
"High-speed rail between Newcastle and Sydney will change the way people live, work and travel in our country's most populous region," she explained.
"It will connect the Newcastle and Central Coast communities to Sydney in a way that has never been done before."
The Newcastle to Central Coast stretch is slated to be completed by 2037, followed by an extension to Sydney Central by 2039 and Western Sydney International Airport by 2042.
The project would include stations at Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Central Coast, Sydney Central, Parramatta and Western Sydney International Airport.
