45 minutes from Sydney to Newcastle? A new plan for high-speed trains in New South Wales has been unveiled

Dedicated high-speed rail lines could connect Sydney to Newcastle, Wollongong and the state’s west as part of a new long-term plan to boost public transport in New South Wales.

The high-speed rail plan has been revealed in a confidential 320-page strategy by Transport for NSW.

Under the plan, key interchanges to link the high-speed trains to the rest of Sydney’s rail network will be located in Parramatta, Epping and Campbelltown.

The draft strategy says the hubs will help deliver ‘easy access’ to employment centres and health and education precincts.

‘The transformation will include both new, dedicated fast rail lines to enable train speeds of up to 250 kilometres per hour, and improvements to the existing network to increase speeds on those sections to a maximum of 160 kilometres per hour,’ it says.

‘It also includes new trains and new or improved stations that, combined with radically faster travel times, will deliver a step change in customer experiences.’

The strategy document estimates fast-rail trains will reduce travel times between greater Parramatta and Newcastle from 2.5 hours to an hour.

Meanwhile the journey from Parramatta to Gosford would only take 25-minutes, while a dedicated fast-rail line from Sydney to Canberra could halve travel times to 90 minutes.