A new High Speed Rail Authority board member brings rolling stock and systems integration experience. That arrival comes 22 days after the authority shortlisted the groups competing to supply its first high-speed trains.

Hand fitting a train piece into a High Speed Rail Authority puzzle
An official image published with the authority’s May 2026 industry update shows a hand completing a High Speed Rail Authority puzzle featuring a train. Photo: High Speed Rail Authority / © Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia’s infrastructure minister named Professor Eva Hanly and Christopher Rayner to the board on 10 September. Hanly received a three-year term, while Rayner received a two-year term. The government filled both seats through an open competitive process for vacant member roles.

Rayner’s HS2 record sits close to the trains package

Rayner is a British rail executive whose experience covers rolling stock, operations systems and systems integration. It includes work on the UK’s High Speed 2 project and the development of operating and maintenance regimes for the commissioning of High Speed 1.

Minutes of an HS2 Ltd board meeting on 3 August 2017 identify him as Railway Operations Managing Director and record his attendance for the rolling stock item. The board approved the principles of a four-stage evaluation framework for the rolling stock invitation to tender. Management also confirmed that further work was required on funding the maintenance element before the planned contract award in December 2019.

What the trains and systems package covers

The Australian trains and systems package covers the supply of the trains, the design and delivery of rail systems, construction of the depot and operations control centre, and integration, testing and commissioning across the corridor.

Three proponents are taking part in the Development Phase: the Alstom/UGL Joint Venture, the ARC Joint Venture and Hitachi Rail STS Australia. They will compete to design and develop Australia’s first high-speed trains and systems. No major construction contract will be awarded until the government completes its decision-making process following the end of the Development Phase. One of the three proponents would then be selected by the High Speed Rail Authority to deliver the trains, depot and associated systems.

Trains, Systems and System Integration package, Newcastle to Sydney High Speed Rail, as at September 2026
Element What it involves
Trains Supply of the trains for the Newcastle to Sydney corridor
Systems and facilities Design of all systems, plus construction of the rail depot and the operations control centre
Integration Integration, testing and commissioning of every relevant system on the corridor
Interface with civils System designs and components pass to the Area Package contractors, who prepare installation drawings and install the systems
Shortlisted proponents Alstom/UGL Joint Venture; ARC Joint Venture; Hitachi Rail STS Australia
Decision point No major construction contract will be awarded until the government completes its decision-making process after the Development Phase; one of the three proponents would then be selected

The board returns to its full statutory size

Under the High Speed Rail Authority Act 2022, the board consists of a chair and four other members. The minister appoints all of them. In June the government reappointed Jill Rossouw, Ian Hunt and Dyan Perry. Rossouw stayed as chair for three years. Hunt and Perry returned as members for two years and six months respectively. The two September appointments therefore bring the board back to five.

High Speed Rail Authority board, membership and terms as at September 2026
Member Role Term and date
Jill Rossouw Chair Three years, reappointed June 2026
Ian Hunt Member Two years, reappointed June 2026
Dyan Perry Member Six months, reappointed June 2026
Eva Hanly Member Three years, appointed September 2026
Christopher Rayner Member Two years, appointed September 2026

All five seats provided for in the High Speed Rail Authority Act 2022 are filled again. Sources: High Speed Rail Authority; Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, June 2026; Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, September 2026.

Hanly is a strategic adviser and non-executive director. Her career spans nearly three decades of procurement, delivery and operation of complex infrastructure across transport, mining and energy. She served as chief executive officer of Squadron Energy and has held senior roles at Worley, Transurban and Origin. Currently she is Professor of Engineering Practice at the University of New South Wales. She also sits as a director on the TAFE NSW Advisory Board.

Rayner’s term therefore runs for two years and Hanly’s for three. Meanwhile the Development Phase continues.