A LEADING Hunter business group has welcomed half a billion dollars in state funding for a high-speed rail connection to Sydney, but Labor says "too little, too late".
Premier Dominic Perrottet on Saturday announced a $500 million commitment in the 2022-23 NSW Budget to bring faster rail between Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle a step closer.
Focused initially on the Sydney to Central Coast link, the investment is slated to improve the Tuggerah-Wyong connection and includes new electrified tracks, rail bridges over the Wyong River and station upgrades.
"This will create tens of thousands of jobs and significantly boost the economy," treasurer Matt Kean said.
Site investigations are scheduled to commence before the end of 2022 with work set to begin in 2025.
However, the funding is conditional on $500 million in matched funding announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, prior to the federal election, to eventually cut travel time between the state's two most-populous cities from two-and-a-half hours to 45 minutes.
Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes said both the NSW and new federal government were starting to realise the priority and value of connecting regional cities.
In their pre-election white paper titled Powering Business in the Hunter, Business Hunter called for immediate action to reduce the travel time between Newcastle and Sydney by at least 60 minutes.
"This announcement shows that government is taking the issue of modern interconnectivity between cities seriously and is prioritising reduced travel times," Mr Hawes said.
"Any efforts that take people out of cars and entices them into trains has a massive sustainability dividend and for those that currently make the trip on a regular basis it will be a godsend."
The White Paper also called for investment in digital technologies on trains.
"As land acquisition takes place on a new fast rail system, Business Hunter believes immediate additional investment in boosting the existing commuter experience - with on board wifi, charging capabilities in carriages and a shorter commute will deliver strong returns in a multi-city economy," Mr Hawes said.
"We don't believe this will be a major attraction for people to live in the Hunter and commute daily to Sydney but can see enormous benefits for the cohort that makes this trip on a regular basis."
The NSW Labor opposition said the announcement came too late, following 12 years of "inaction and broken promises on faster, and high-speed rail".
Labor said the government had failed to act on the issue four years after commissioning an independent report to investigate options on high-speed rail.
"Dominic Perrottet is the third Liberal premier in 12 years to call for faster or high-speed rail before an election," NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns said in a statement.
"The people of NSW will take a look at this and say to Premier Perrottet ... you've had twelve years, this is too little, too late."
Speaking at a doorstop in Kogorah on Saturday, Mr Minns also commented on the unspecified timeframe of the Premier's announcement.
"If the Premier is going to stand up and promise hundreds of thousands of people that the travel time from Gosford to the Central Station will be 25 minutes, he's got an obligation to say when that exactly will happen."
