This week's high-speed rail industry briefing in Newcastle has raised hopes that, after decades of false starts, the federal government could finally invest in a bullet train to Sydney.
It is hard to believe that a federal agency would invite sector leaders such as Hitachi and Siemens to Australia for a face-to-face if it hadn't received at least some encouragement from its political masters that the project had a chance of proceeding.
High Speed Rail Authority boss Tim Parker has said the government will make an investment decision next year.
He says construction could start in 2027 and be finished between 2037 and 2039, considerably sooner than many in the community might have envisioned.
As Committee for the Hunter chief executive and former Malcolm Turnbull infrastructure adviser Alice Thompson pointed out on Tuesday, having the HSRA CEO and chair talking so publicly about a project timeline shows the government is serious.
Some business and community leaders remain sceptical, especially since high-speed rail has been dangled as an election carrot before.
The government's decision to bring forward the high-speed rail business case from 2026 to 2024, just before the next election, has also fuelled fears this is a political exercise.
However, this Labor government has carried the project much further forward than any of its predecessors.
Mr Parker's industry briefing on Tuesday outlined just how complex and ambitious the project will be.
Massive tunnels under Sydney, the Hawkesbury River and Brisbane Water would be up to four times as long as Australia's longest transport tunnels to date.
Up to 100km of the 165km route would need to travel underground.
The Sydney Metro West project is costing $1 billion a kilometre, though it has three times as many stations as the high-speed line is likely to have.
The NSW government's metro experience suggests a Newcastle-Sydney high-speed line could cost somewhere in the region of $100 billion or more.
The government will have to decide whether the massive outlay is worth the economic benefits which surely will flow from the project.
Anthony Albanese has been a champion of high-speed rail. His government has already tipped $500 million into planning and corridor preservation.
It would be a memorable nation-building achievement if Mr Albanese could at least start the proposed east coast network within his term as PM.
Of course, that will depend on whether Labor defeats the Peter Dutton-led Coalition in next year's election.
The Opposition said on Tuesday that it was "committed to delivering the high-speed rail business case".
Mr Parker says the government could sign the first construction contracts by 2027, during the next government term.
He says the HSRA's business case will examine the comparative future cost of widening the M1 motorway and upgrading the existing heavy rail line, both important considerations as the Hunter and Central Coast population surges towards 1.2 million by the early 2040s.
In blunt political terms, Labor has little to gain in the Hunter from high-speed rail hopes.
On the Central Coast, it holds the seat of Robertson on a narrow 2.3-point margin and Dobell by 6.5 points.
It is unclear how much Sydney voters care about one-hour train trips to Newcastle.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has promised Labor won't buy the election with taxpayers' money.
The Herald hopes that pledge extends to banishing false hope of future investment in high-speed rail.
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