AUSTRALIA: The High Speed Rail Authority has appointed a Keolis-led partnership as the Newcastle–Sydney high-speed rail adviser for business, operations and maintenance during the project’s development phase.

An ONCF Al Boraq high-speed train standing at Tangier Terminus in Morocco.
An ONCF Al Boraq train at Tangier Terminus in Morocco. Photo: إيان, CC BY-SA 4.0. Illustrative image; it does not depict the Newcastle–Sydney project.

The appointment, announced by Keolis on 27 July 2026, brings together Keolis, SNCF Voyageurs and railway certification specialist CERTIFER. The team will act as a shadow operator and maintainer for the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA), giving the project an operator-led perspective before future services are defined.

Operational requirements enter the design phase

The adviser’s brief covers service planning, customer experience, maintenance strategy and operational readiness. Under the model, these requirements will inform the railway’s design and development rather than being considered only when the system is ready for operation.

Keolis will lead the partnership and provide transport integration guidance. SNCF Voyageurs contributes experience from more than four decades of high-speed rail operations, while CERTIFER brings safety, assurance and certification expertise.

The partners have worked with established services including France’s TGV network, Eurostar, Morocco’s Al Boraq and OUIGO in France and Spain. They also bring advisory and development experience from the Alto program in Canada and California High-Speed Rail.

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Newcastle–Sydney line targets a one-hour journey

According to the HSRA project outline, Line 1 is planned as a new dedicated railway between Newcastle and Sydney, with trains capable of operating at up to 320 km/h. The authority expects the end-to-end journey to take around one hour, while trips from the Central Coast to either Newcastle or Sydney would take around 30 minutes.

The adviser appointment belongs to the project’s Development Phase; it does not represent the start of construction or passenger service. The team’s immediate role is to translate operating, maintenance and customer needs into inputs for design, service planning and readiness.

The announcement did not disclose the contract value or the duration of the advisory appointment.

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