High-Speed Rail Authority Conduct Feasibility Study Into Conducting A Feasibility Study Into Creating A High-Speed Rail Authority

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

The newly established interim High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) has today confirmed the commencement of a multi-phase feasibility study to assess the viability of undertaking a subsequent feasibility study into the potential establishment of a permanent High-Speed Rail Authority, tasked with exploring future options for the development of a high-speed rail corridor between Betoota, Birdsville and Bedourie.

The $42.8 million pre-feasibility initiative, funded under Stage 1 of the Strategic Infrastructure Concept Development Framework, will evaluate the procedural readiness, policy alignment and interagency synergies necessary to inform a more comprehensive Stage 2 scoping document, to be tabled for ministerial consideration in the 2027–28 financial year.

According to a departmental spokesperson, the current feasibility exercise will "ensure best-practice governance outcomes by embedding evidence-based methodologies within a robust stakeholder engagement matrix designed to facilitate whole-of-government decision-making pathways."

"This foundational study will determine the operational parameters for a future, more detailed feasibility assessment," said HSRA project director Neil Jutson.

"Our focus is on developing a strategic implementation roadmap that supports the establishment of an appropriate institutional mechanism for long-term coordination of high-speed rail facilitation objectives," he said.

The proposed Betoota/Birdsville/Bedourie loop has been identified as a key deliverable under the Channel Country Mobility Enhancement Agenda, with preliminary modelling suggesting a reduction in theoretical travel times of up to 94 per cent, pending further modelling.

Local governments across the Channel Country have welcomed the announcement with what the department described as "measured optimism and procedural curiosity."

"We are committed to participating in a structured consultative dialogue framework," said Betoota mayor Cr Keith Carton OAM.

"Pending further consultation on the consultation process, our council looks forward to reviewing the consultation outcomes in due course," he said.

The project is expected to create significant economic uplift within the consultancy sector, with Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and Ernst & Young each shortlisted to deliver independent oversight of the oversight committee overseeing the project's oversight.

A departmental briefing note confirmed that the HSRA's interim working group will provide a draft discussion paper to the Federal Steering Coordination Taskforce by Q3 2026, after which an independent review panel will be convened to review the governance outcomes of the review process.

When asked if the high-speed rail network would ever be constructed, Jutson said the Authority was "not yet in a position to pre-empt any pre-decisional framework outcomes."

"Once the interdepartmental coordination matrix reaches consensus on the procedural roadmap for scoping alignment, we’ll be in a strong position to move towards the next phase of determining whether to move towards the next phase," he said.

Jutson refused to comment on his $745 000 salary.

More to come.