The Sydney to Newcastle high-speed rail network, backed by a $500M commitment from the Federal Government, is the first priority for the newly appointed Board of the High Speed Rail Authority.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, said the first step would be planning and corridor works for the Sydney to Newcastle section which would come through the Central Coast.
The Authority will also advance plans for other sections of the high-speed network which will eventually connect Brisbane to Melbourne.
The Board, chaired by Jill Rossouw, formally commenced operations on Tuesday, June 13.
The four other Board members are Gillian Brown, Dyan Crowther, Ian Hunt and Neil Scales.
The Authority will oversee the development of the high-speed rail network along the east coast of Australia which will revolutionise interstate travel, provide a fast alternative for people to move between cities and regional centres, promote sustainable settlement patterns and create broad economic benefits for regional centres.
The network could allow passengers to travel between major cities and regional centres at speeds exceeding 250 kilometres per hour.
A merit-based process was recently completed to select the Board members of the Authority, resulting in a team with the appropriate skills, qualifications, knowledge and experience to best bring high-speed rail to reality.
Chair Jill Rossouw has multi-sector Board experience across privatised transport infrastructure entities, social infrastructure and public health care.
She is currently Executive Director, Infrastructure at IFM Investors and a Board member of the Port of Brisbane.
Dyan Crowther is CEO of High Speed One Ltd, which owns and operates the high-speed railway in the UK.
Gillian Brown has expertise in transport, infrastructure and fund management and is a director of Ausgrid, a non-executive director of Queensland Investment Corporation and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ian Hunt is a former infrastructure CEO with more than 30 years’ experience in engineering and project management.
He is currently a non-executive director of Canberra Light Rail and the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.
Neil Scales is an experienced infrastructure leader and most recently the Director-General of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.
Formerly he was CEO of Translink and Director-General of Merseytravel in the UK.
At present he is Chair of Austroads, a commissioner of the National Transport Commission and a member of the Queensland Transport and Logistics Council.
Sue Murray