The head of the High Speed Rail Authority says building a bullet train from Newcastle to Sydney is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" and he wants to "get it right" by making it attractive to as many people as possible.
HSRA chief executive Tim Parker confirmed he had asked potential planning consultants to look into new high-speed rail stations at Broadmeadow and Central in Sydney.
Mr Parker said running high-speed rail into the middle of cities like Sydney and Newcastle was "complicated" but "achievable".
"It's important we think about our customer base, make it an attractive service," he said.
"Part of it is not just about engineering convenience but where will passengers go.
"That's why it's absolutely warranted to look at Broadmeadow."
A 2013 federal government-commissioned study on high-speed rail recommended a route which skirted Newcastle to the west, but Mr Parker said times had changed.
"Cameron Park was in the 2013 report, but lots of things have changed, the way people think, the way people go to work.
"There is merit, which is why we've said we'll explore it, in looking at a station that's closer to Newcastle.
"You've got the light rail there, and the opportunity around Broadmeadow is huge."
Mr Parker said he would prefer to "start with what's best then work out how to deliver it most economically".
"If you start with what's worst, you still end up spending a lot of money.
"This is a once-in-a-generation and let's get it right."
Mr Parker was head of projects at Sydney Metro and project director on the 30-kilometre City & Southwest line, which includes a new 16-kilometre tunnel passing under Sydney Harbour.
The cost of that project has almost doubled from initial estimates to $21.6 billion, but Mr Parker said he was not put off by the possibility of tunnelling under Newcastle suburbs to get high-speed rail to Broadmeadow.
"I'm not averse to tunnelling. We're going to be doing a lot of tunnelling. I think sometimes people get very scared by tunnelling. We've done tens of kilometres in Sydney in the last few years.
"It's not cheap, but sometimes the cost of land acquisition and all the environmental issues mean it becomes quite a good long-term solution."
The estimated cost of the Newcastle-Sydney high-speed line was $18.9 billion in 2013, or more than $26.5 billion in today's dollars, though construction costs have grown well beyond inflation in recent years.
The HSRA is engaging consultants to help prepare the business case for a Newcastle-Sydney high-speed rail service by the end of the year.
Some experts have suggested integrating conventional train services with a high-speed line to bring down costs and make services more user-friendly, but Mr Parker said he preferred a line dedicated to high-speed trains.
"We want very high levels of reliability.
"I can see some benefits of integrating, but if we're going to do this, we've really got to do it well and end up with a 100-year product where everyone says it works, it's very reliable, you're not going to get stuck behind a freight train or anything like that."
He said stations could be built or redesigned to accommodate high-speed and conventional lines, but the two train types would not mix.
"When you look at that corridor, nearly 15 million passengers a year use it.
"The end game, having a dedicated link, you end up with three alternatives to get to Newcastle.
"You could do high-speed, you could do the existing Sydney trains or you could do the road.
"You're adding real value to the link and providing absolute long-term robustness."
Mr Parker also pushed back against suggestions from some commentators that the high-speed network should bypass Central in favour of Homebush or Rosehill in Sydney's west.
"You've got to start with where are the passengers, and Central is a fantastic station for passengers.
"If you said what's the best station in Sydney for connecting all of Sydney, it's Central.
"We're keen to look at high-speed rail as a business.
"It's one thing going to government asking for a huge investment. You don't want to also have to say you have to subsidise it forever more."
The 2013 study largely discounted high-speed rail as a commuter service, but Mr Parker said the line should cater for both inter-capital travellers and people getting to and from work.
"The economics around unlocking some of those regional benefits already exist; they just need to be unlocked, and that connectivity will do that.
"I think what's changed is a better understanding of the benefits good transport brings.
"I think the 2013 report was really focused on the benefits of fast travel times.
"I think if you look at the economic benefits you can unlock in the regions, whether it's productivity, manufacturing, it looks very different.
"I love the idea that in the future your work day will start when you get on the train, not when you get off.
"When you choose someone to work for you, it doesn't matter where they live."
The community has grown cynical about high-speed rail after decades of on-again, off-again planning, but Mr Parker said he believed the government was genuine about building it.
"If we do a good business case and the government says we want to go in 2025, you could have your first major contract by 2027.
"I think government generally want to get on with this.
"It is a problem. It is one of the busiest corridors in the country, and it is one of the slowest.
"Everyone around the world who has a high-speed rail network is expanding it."
Mr Parker said the HSRA had "got our eye out" for train manufacturing opportunities, especially in the Hunter.
"I look at where the Hunter is and the skill set up there, absolutely ripe opportunity for manufacturing plants."
