The 2026 high-speed train is slower than 1964. Will it be better by 2060? |
The 2026 high-speed train is slower than 1964. Will it be better by 2060?
February 26, 2026 — 5:00am
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Super-fast rail in NSW has always been a wild fantasy. Plan after plan to link Sydney to my hometown of Newcastle with a European-inspired high-speed train have been bandied around for the entirety of my life. Not to age myself, but that is four long decades.
Unsurprisingly, I have limited faith in this latest iteration materialising, despite hoping it will. As I have bemoaned in this space previously, the train linking the state’s two biggest cities is a national embarrassment. The new fleet, the long-delayed Mariyung, makes the trip more comfortable, but no faster. In 2026, it takes 2 hours and 11 minutes from Central to Broadmeadow. In 1964, a steam locomotive set a record for the journey, clocking in a time of 2 hours and 1 minute.
My kids recently took their first trip on the Eurostar from Paris to London. “Will it be like the train to Grandma’s?” one asked with trepidation, having endured the Sydney to Newcastle journey several times. Isn’t the innocence of youth delightful, I thought, while trying not to laugh (I dare not suggest we catch the Sydney to Canberra train service. That is even more shameful.)
Maybe I’ve........