Victoria
Funding for the Geelong Fast Rail project was confirmed in 2020, with construction expected to get underway in 2023. With the project expected to cut travel times to Melbourne to well below an hour, it is expected to deliver significant social and economic benefits to the region.
Victoria has already benefited from strong investment in its regional rail network, with the Regional Rail Link resulting in faster and more frequent services. Today, 58 per cent of rail journeys on the regional network are commuter trips.
New South Wales
The NSW Government is developing a fast rail strategy focusing on four key corridors. Fast rail could cut travel times to Sydney to just 60 minutes from Wollongong and 120 minutes from Newcastle.
The rocky terrain outside of Sydney means, while investment in the existing network will deliver significant improvements, new rail lines will also be required to get the network up to speed. But with 3.7 million additional people to move to Sydney by 2060, faster rail will be a crucial part of the urban renewal along the cities outer limits.
Queensland
There is strong support for faster rail in South East Queensland, with all major parties supporting further investigation of fast rail at the 2021 State Election.
Faster rail could be crucial to urban renewal along the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast corridors, while supporting the region’s iconic tourism industry.
Western Australia
Investigations into fast rail along the Perth to Bunbury corridor have been funded to support growth in the region. Fast rail could deliver travel times to Perth in under 90 minutes.