Commuters will hop onto Australia’s first high-speed trains in just 12 years if the latest proposal for the nation’s rail network leaves the station.

Stretching almost 200km from Newcastle to Sydney, newly-released details have the long-touted line being built in three in stages with the final section opening in 2042.

Infrastructure Australia recommended pushing ahead with the plan in its evaluation of a business case, which the Albanese government has been sitting on since the High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) finished it in 2024.

The nation-building project would ultimately allow passengers to travel between the two most populous NSW cities at up to 320km/h, cutting the travel time from Newcastle to Sydney more than two-and-a-half hours to one.

Six stations would be built in total.

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