More than 700 people representing about 250 organisations and 17 countries have attended a major industry briefing in Newcastle, where two milestone tenders involving trains and tunnelling have been issued.

High Speed Rail connecting Newcastle to Sydney in around one hour is in the Development Phase, a two-year process to get the project construction-ready.

Following the Newcastle industry briefing, tender documents were issued for:

• Area Package 1 – The design and construction of about 35 kilometres of twin tunnels using tunnel boring machines; associated civil works; an underground railway station on the Central Coast; and all system installation;

• Trains, Systems and System Integration – The supply of high speed trains; design of all systems; construction of the rail depot and operations control centre; and the ultimate integration, testing and commissioning of all relevant systems for the Newcastle to Sydney High Speed Rail corridor.

The parties selected from these tenders later this year will work together with the Australian Government’s High Speed Rail Authority to get the project construction-ready. This includes finalising the alignment between Newcastle and Sydney, supporting planning approval processes and refining costs and timeframe.

At the end of the Development Phase, the Authority will select preferred tenders to build the project – however, no major construction contracts will be awarded until the Australian Government’s decision-making process is complete.

In Newcastle, industry was also updated on other major procurement activities during the Development Phase, including:

• The proposed delivery strategy and funding and financing models

• Details of the Advanced Manufacturing Facility tender process; and

• Future area packages.

The Newcastle to Sydney project will create an opportunity for 160,000 new homes between the Hunter Valley and Sydney, boost the Australian economy by $250 billion, create more than 99,000 new jobs in the economy after it opens as well as up to 15,000 construction jobs a year.

High Speed Rail will connect Newcastle to Sydney in around one hour on trains running up to 320km/h, with the Central Coast just half an hour from both Sydney and Newcastle.