The national authority working on bullet trains from Newcastle to Sydney has asked contractors to examine options for a new high-speed rail station at Broadmeadow.
The proposal marks a significant change in direction from a 2013 government study that suggested the high-speed rail route bypass Newcastle via a new station near Cameron Park.
The High Speed Rail Authority last week called for eight tenders to help develop a business case for the Sydney-to-Newcastle first stage of an east coast high-speed network.
Infrastructure Minister Catherine King has set an ambitious target of completing the business case by the end of the year, and the tender documents outline a rapid timeframe for identifying a preferred route, station locations, train types, operational requirements, costs, finance options and delivery strategies.
The documents reveal the HSRA wants the planning contractors to "build on" the 2013 report, which recommended stations in Newcastle and the Central Coast be "located outside the current urban areas" to minimise costs and avoid disruption to built-up areas.
The new tender documents differ from the preferred 2013 alignment by asking potential contractors to look at a high-speed rail station much closer to Newcastle's city centre.
"The study area will include the Sydney to Newcastle Corridor including reviewing opportunities for a HSR Station at Broadmeadow and resolution of the HSR Network terminus configuration at Central," a services brief included with the tender material says.
Newcastle councillors voted on Tuesday night to write to HSRA chief executive Tim Parker recommending Broadmeadow as "the only viable location in the Greater Newcastle region for consideration as Newcastle's station location".
The councillors' motion noted that a Broadmeadow high-speed rail station would be next to the planned Hunter Park sports, leisure and residential precinct and in a suburb identified for "large-scale urban renewal" with capacity for 17,000 more homes.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes told the meeting that the route proposed in 2013 was informed by outdated planning ideas which focused on "urban sprawl".
The HSRA tender documents are also notable in retaining Central Station as the preferred high-speed rail terminus in Sydney.
Some transport and urban planning experts, including University of Technology Sydney's Garry Glazebrook, have suggested the new high-speed line should pass west of the Sydney central business district and connect with the new Metro West line at Rosehill or Homebush.
The tender documents say the 2013 study targeted a potential travel time of 40 minutes from Newcastle to Sydney but "one hour is considered more reasonable and will provide more flexibility on alignment, number of stations and locations of stations".
The scope for the business case includes investigating a new "dedicated" high-speed line between the two cities with new stations in Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle.
Dr Glazebrook, writing on his Fastrack Australia website, has argued for high-speed rail integrated with existing services along the Sydney-Newcastle corridor to reduce costs and build times, but the HSRA appears committed to a stand-alone high-speed line.
The tender documents say the scope for the project also includes new rolling stock capable of a top speed of "at least 250 kilometres per hour" and "future proofing" for expanding the line to Melbourne and Brisbane.
Locating a high-speed rail station at Broadmeadow raises the question of how the line will pass through the suburbs of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle how it will continue north to Queensland.
The 2013 alignment avoided the Lower Hunter's built-up areas and the sensitive Hunter Wetlands National Park but appeared less convenient for many travellers.
The new tender documents highlight the high-speed line's "city shaping" and "land use" possibilities.
They identify the Sydney to Newcastle corridor as a "nationally significant transport route" whose passenger rail services are constrained by "steep and winding alignments" and freight trains.
"The rail service is well patronised despite these challenges with around 14.9 million passengers using intercity services each year," the documents say.
"This makes the Sydney to Newcastle route the busiest intercity rail line in Australia.
"During peak periods, services south of Gosford are often crowded and are expected to reach full-seated capacity during the late 2030s and early 2040s."
The documents say the M1 Motorway is "characterised by significant congestion during peak periods and holidays".
The 2013 study proposed a route from Central Station proceeding under the North Shore to Hornsby then underground again to the Hawkesbury River, onwards via tunnels and above-ground track to a new station at Tuggerah then continuing north via Thornton.
The study found an alignment providing closer access to Newcastle would require "long lengths of tunnels" or the expensive acquisition of many homes and businesses.
The estimated cost of the Newcastle-Sydney line was $18.9 billion in 2013, or more than $26.5 billion in today's dollars, though construction costs have increased well beyond inflation in recent years.
The Newcastle Herald approached Mr Parker for comment.
