Why not just get an earlier train?

a 3 hour trip on the train or 2 hour trip in a car we want to get less congestion on the road and more people on public transport surely making the train journey with other transport options. It would also help take population pressure of western sydney if train journey to Sydney from Newcastle is shorter than population pressures will be spread more across the community. As for where? the pollies promise isn't about Newcastle to Sydney it's about linking Brisbane Sydney Canberra and Melbourne Newcastle only gets mentioned because the route has to pass through here and the first stage will ewither be Newcastle to Sydney or Sydney to Canberra the local transport infrustructure to airports etc will have to funnel people to the fast train the fast train wont make deviations for airports etc

Of course the fast train service would not go anywhere near Newcastle. From Sydney it might stop at Gosford, Wyong, Morisset, Fassifern-Lake Macquarie and Glendale. From the glendale Transport Interchange it would be headed to the Williamtown Airport in Port Stephens, perhaps stopping at Mayfield. Newcastle people would access the Glendale Transport Interchange with the existing rail line. Gillard and Combet are both from Melbourne and have no idea about the population areas of the Hunter.

Just bring back the old flyer.

If it is a VFT it will not stop at any stations between Sydney and Broadmeadow. It will not be for commuters from the smaller stations or else it would not be a VFT. The fares will also be very high and are comparable to what people pay for air travel. A weekly would cost around $1000.

No Kim, you are thinking of the old days of the Flyer. These days there is a far greater population in Lake Macquarie and we would be serviced by Fast Train Stations at Glendale Transport Interchange, Fassifern-Lake Macquarie, or Morisset. From Glendale it would go to Williamtown Airport, and would never get as far as Cardiff, let alone Broadmeadow. Newcastle is just a satellite city of the Hunter.

This discussion makes me wish that I was back in Terrigal, instead of having to go back to the States...unfortunately, I am an American citizen, not Australian...