Wikipedia

High Speed Rail Authority

Australian government agency responsible for high-speed rail

The High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) is a department of the Australian government. It is responsible for giving advice on and planning a high-speed rail line along the east coast of Australia. It is also responsible for being the manager of builders and owners of that line.

High Speed Rail Authority
Authority overview
Formed13 June 2023
Minister responsible
  • Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
Authority executives
  • Tim Parker, CEO
  • Jill Rossouw, chairperson
Websitehttps://www.hsra.gov.au/

It was part of a promise of the Labor political party and its party leader Anthony Albanese. The promise was to build a high-speed rail line from Sydney to Newcastle, with the possibility of extending the line to Melbourne and Brisbane. It started to operate on 13 June 2023, and its chief executive officer was named on 11 January 2024. A previous department, the National Faster Rail Agency, finished on 13 June 2023.

A case for the Sydney to Newcastle section is being developed, with AU$500 million promised for the development of that case. The companies responsible for the development of the case were named in June 2024. Geotechnical investigations started and companies were advised on progress in August 2024. Development of the case is expected to finish in December 2024.[1]

Start and previous departments

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Anthony Albanese gave a speech on 2 January 2022 in Newcastle. At that speech, a promise was made to build a high-speed rail line between Sydney and Newcastle. AU$500 million was promised for purchasing land, planning and early works. Another promise was to start a department to build that line, and possibly extending the line to Melbourne and Brisbane.[2] A similar promise was made by the Labor Party in 2019 and 2021.[3][4]

In September 2022, a bill to start the department was introduced to federal parliament. The bill was passed on 24 November 2022. The bill became law on 12 December 2022. The department started on 13 June 2023 and its chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Parker was named on 11 January 2024.[5][6][7]

National Faster Rail Agency

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In the 2019-20 financial year, the National Faster Rail Agency (NFRA) was started. It was a department that investigated making some rail lines faster. Five rail lines in total were investigated:[8][9][10]

On 13 June 2023, the National Faster Rail Agency ended operations. Some people working for the Agency were moved to the Authority.[11]

Board of directors

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The board of directors is based on the laws governing the Authority. The board is made up of the chairperson and four directors, who are:[12]

  • Jill Rossouw (chairperson)
  • Gillian Brown (director)
  • Ian Hunt (director)
  • Dyan Perry OBE (director)
  • Neil Scales OBE (director)

Planning

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Sydney to Newcastle line

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January to June 2024

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In January 2024, AU$78.8 million was set aside for developing the case for the Sydney to Newcastle line.[13][14] In March 2024, a request for companies to share in eight parts of work was made. These parts of work included:[15]

The companies sharing in these parts of work were announced on 13 June 2023. These companies included Ernst & Young, KPMG and Arcadis among others.[16][17]

July 2024 to present

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Geotechnical investigations started on 26 August 2024. The adviser, David Och, said that the land along the proposed line had all sorts of rocks, including valleys, faults and dykes. Och said that they were "the main [base]" of the geotechnical investigations.[18][19][20]

References

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  1. ↑ "Project | High Speed Rail Authority | High Speed Rail Authority". www.hsra.gov.au. Archived from the original on 2024-08-11. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  2. ↑ Duke, Jennifer (2022-01-01). "Labor promises $500m for Sydney to Newcastle leg of future high-speed rail". The Age. Archived from the original on 2024-08-12. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  3. ↑ "High Speed Rail Authority: Labor will kick start high speed rail" (PDF). Australian Labor Party. 15 November 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024 – via Parliament of Australia ParlInfo.
  4. ↑ Lynch, Lydia (2019-03-21). "The duelling rail plans for south-east Queensland". The Age. Archived from the original on 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  5. ↑ Commonwealth Parliament House, Canberra (8 September 2022). "High Speed Rail Authority Bill 2022". www.aph.gov.au. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  6. ↑ "Inaugural High Speed Rail Authority CEO announced - Ministers for the Department of Infrastructure". 11 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  7. ↑ King, Catherine (5 June 2023). "All aboard High Speed Rail Authority - Ministers for the Department of Infrastructure". Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "Federal budget 2019: fast rail solution to traffic congestion". Australian Financial Review. 2019-04-02. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  9. ↑ "National Faster Rail Agency | National Faster Rail Agency (NFRA)". National Faster Rail Agency. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Projects | National Faster Rail Agency (NFRA)". www.nfra.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  11. ↑ "Budget October 2022-23 - National Faster Rail Agency - october_2022-23_infra_pbs_14_nfra.pdf" (PDF). Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "About Us - High Speed Rail Authority". High Speed Rail Authority. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Funding released for Sydney to Newcastle high-speed rail business case - Ministers for the Department of Infrastructure". Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  14. ↑ Ikonomou, Tess (2024-01-30). "Australia splashes $78m on high-speed rail case". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  15. ↑ "Tenders to develop business case for high-speed rail network". Newcastle Herald. 2024-03-17. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  16. ↑ "'Very serious': firms named to shape high-speed rail business case". Newcastle Herald. 2024-06-13. Archived from the original on 2024-06-15. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  17. ↑ "World-leading experts on board for high-speed rail". Ministers for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Archived from the original on 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  18. ↑ "High Speed Rail Authority drills under Newcastle as project builds steam". Newcastle Herald. 2024-08-26. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  19. ↑ Coade, Melissa (2024-08-26). "Drilling commences for Sydney to Newcastle high-speed rail business case". The Mandarin. Archived from the original on 28 August 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  20. ↑ Kajastie, Nia (2024-09-11). "Ground investigations begin for Australia's first high speed rail line". Ground Engineering. Archived from the original on 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
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