Australia Puts Three Teams in a 35km Tunnel Race
18.08.2026
AUSTRALIA: Three international construction consortia have been shortlisted to design 35 km of twin tunnels for the Newcastle–Sydney High Speed Rail project between Berowra and Ourimbah.
The High Speed Rail Authority selected the Acciona John Holland Joint Venture, the Advanced Alliance Joint Venture (Gamuda Engineering, FCC Construction Australia, Samsung C&T) and the GoFar Joint Venture (CPB Contractors, Ferrovial Construction Australia, VINCI Construction Grands Projets Australia) for an Early Contractor Involvement process covering Area Package 1, according to the Australian Government. “Over the past 15 years, Australia has developed a world-class tunnelling industry with hundreds of kilometres of tunnels built here — now we’ll be working with some of the best of the best on Australia’s High Speed Rail,” said HSRA CEO Tim Parker.
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What the three teams will help determine
The package also covers the new Central Coast High Speed Rail Station at Gosford, rail and station systems, and associated structural and surface works. HSRA CEO Tim Parker said the development work will determine the tunnel diameter, the type of tunnel boring machines required and how the Gosford station should be built. This is the development phase rather than construction: no major construction contract will be awarded until the government completes its decision-making process.
What comes next for Newcastle–Sydney High Speed Rail
Watch for the final investment decision at the end of the approximately two-year Development Phase. The business case assumes initial services connecting Broadmeadow, Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast in 2037, followed by an extension to Sydney Central in 2039. These remain planning assumptions rather than committed opening dates.
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