Intro

The federal government has released the business case for a bullet train between Sydney and Newcastle, promising funding in hopes of getting the $60bn project ‘shovel ready’ within two years. Commuters would be able to travel between the cities in a single hour, cutting the journey by more than half. But we have been here before, with Anthony Albanese joining a long line of prime ministers who have announced grand plans for the train line before putting them back on the shelf. Senior reporter Tory Shepherd speaks to Reged Ahmad about the many broken promises in the long journey to high-speed rail and asks: could we really get it this time?