Three consortia shortlisted for the first tunnelling package of Newcastle–Sydney high speed rail

Three teams of Australian and international contractors are now competing to plan the first major civil package of the Newcastle to Sydney high speed rail line.

On 17 August 2026 the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) shortlisted three construction consortia for the Early Contractor Involvement phase of Area Package 1, the section of the route between Berowra and Ourimbah. The package covers about 35 km of twin tunnels driven by tunnel boring machines, the Central Coast high speed rail station at Gosford, and the rail and station systems along that stretch of corridor.

Project at a glance

Meet the three consortia

Acciona John Holland Joint Venture. Acciona and John Holland have teamed up for the package.

Advanced Alliance Joint Venture. Gamuda Engineering, FCC Construction Australia and Samsung C&T Corporation.

GoFar Joint Venture. CPB Contractors, Ferrovial Construction (Australia) and VINCI Construction Grands Projects Australia.

All three were selected through a competitive tender. The tender documents were issued in May 2026 after an HSRA industry briefing in Newcastle that drew more than 700 people from about 250 organisations and 17 countries.

HSRA chief executive Tim Parker said Australia had built a world-class tunnelling industry over the past 15 years, and the authority would now be "working with some of the best of the best". He said the teams would help settle questions such as the diameter of the tunnels, the type of tunnel boring machines needed and how to build the first high speed rail station at Gosford.

What early contractor involvement means

Early Contractor Involvement, or ECI, brings construction contractors into a project while it is still being designed, so their practical know-how shapes the plans, costs and program before a construction contract is signed.

Here, the three consortia will each develop plans for Area Package 1 in competition with one another. The government says this approach is designed to get the best outcome on construction costs and program timeframes. The work feeds into the HSRA's job of finalising the project's cost, scope, design and approvals so it is construction-ready.

One of the three groups would then be selected by the HSRA to deliver the tunnelling and associated construction work in Area Package 1. No major construction contract will be awarded until the government's decision-making process is complete at the end of the Development Phase.

The consortia will also look at how advanced manufacturing can be used to deliver the railway. On 23 September the HSRA opened an expression of interest process for an Advanced Manufacturing Facility, which would produce the majority of the project's construction elements using automation, robotics and precision manufacturing.

The wider project

The HSRA describes Newcastle to Sydney as the proposed first stage of Australia's high speed rail network: a dedicated new railway with trains capable of up to 320 km/h. Stations are proposed for central Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Central Coast, central Sydney, Parramatta and Western Sydney International Airport.

The project entered its two-year, $659.6 million Development Phase on 24 February 2026, when the government also released the HSRA's business case. That phase covers the detailed work needed to lock in design, approvals, scope and cost so major construction contracts can be awarded, with a government investment decision to follow.

The tunnelling shortlist is one of several Development Phase appointments made in August. Two days later, on 19 August, the HSRA shortlisted three proponents for the Trains, Systems and System Integration package: the Alstom/UGL Joint Venture, the ARC Joint Venture (Siemens Mobility, Siemens Mobility GmbH and Mott MacDonald Australia) and Hitachi Rail STS Australia.

On the environmental side, AECOM announced on 25 August that it had been appointed Environmental Planning and Assessment Advisor for the Development Phase, in partnership with bd infrastructure and specialist consultants Biosis, Artefact Heritage and IRIS Visual Planning + Design. The team will prepare environmental impact assessments, manage biodiversity and heritage approvals pathways and develop the project's environmental strategy.

Read the minister's announcement: Tunnellers' visions to shape Australia's High-Speed Rail.

What's next

The three consortia now work alongside the HSRA through the rest of the Development Phase, helping to refine the alignment between Berowra and Ourimbah, the tunnel design and the Gosford station. In parallel, the trains and systems proponents develop their proposals, AECOM's team progresses the environmental assessments, and the Advanced Manufacturing Facility process moves forward.

At the end of the Development Phase, the HSRA will be in a position to select preferred tenderers, and the Australian Government will make its investment decision on Newcastle to Sydney high speed rail.

Published 5 October 2026 · Updated 2 October 2026