The Canberra to Sydney rail link is set for a $100 million upgrade, in a bid to reduce the passenger train trip time to under four hours.

There have long been calls to upgrade the 321-kilometre corridor — on a bad day, it can take 4.5 hours to get between the two cities, making it considerably slower than travelling by car, bus, or plane.

Tomorrow’s federal budget will include $50 million for “priority upgrades” to the rail link, with the funding matched by $25 million from the ACT government, and $25 million from the New South Wales government.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said commuters would see “progressive and incremental improvements” over the coming five years thanks to that $100 million total investment. 

The immediate focus of the improvements will be on the line between Goulburn and Canberra.

That, alongside the new, faster trains scheduled to be rolled out by the NSW government as part of a separate project from 2028, will contribute to the improved travel time. 

‘Quick fixes’ for a more efficient trip

Initial upgrades will include some some “quick fixes” designed to make the service “more efficient”, like new boomgates and lights at level crossings; improvements to track alignments and turnouts; and station and stabling improvements.

“A lot of people want the option around a train, and I know the issue really has been — it’s an older service,” Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said. 

Ms King said the $100 million would also fund a business case for future works on the “really busy line”. 

“We know that there are opportunities to … straighten it out a bit, take out some of the passing lanes, try and make it a much quicker service,” she said.

“But that’s a very expensive proposition so it will need a business case to do that and obviously then be assessed by Infrastructure Australia.”

The NSW government will manage the project, working closely with the ACT government and the three operators that manage the line: Sydney Trains, Australian Rail Track Corporation and UGL Regional Linx.

“What this is about is really taking those three rail infrastructure managers, getting them working together, making sure that we make the changes that will make a significant difference to the time that is taken,” NSW Regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison said.

“At the moment if you’re travelling from Sydney to Canberra for example, it’s about four and a quarter hours, it can be as long as four and a half. 

High patronage on ‘antiquated’ line 

Mr Barr has been advocating for upgrades to the rail line for a decade, and said it was a “really exciting day” for the broader Canberra region. 

“It will support economic development, tourism, and better and more pleasant journeys between Canberra and Sydney,” he said. 

Mr Barr said the rail improvements are expected to make train travel between the two capitals a more attractive option, and more services and carriages could be added in time. 

“I think we’ve put forward a very compelling case given the level of patronage on the service at the moment, and that more daily services would grow the market,” Mr Barr said. 

The route is indeed already well used, with today’s midday trip from Canberra to Sydney sold out. 

Among those climbing on board was Fiona, who described the journey as “very long” and “antiquated”. 

“There are lots of things that need upgrading and it is one of the things that concerns me about Australia,” she said. 

“We should have a fantastic rail network, particularly because of our distances between capital cities. 

Fiona said she’d be a “regular patron” and “so would quite a lot of [her] colleagues” if the service was quicker and more efficient. 

“It’s sort of third or fourth on my list of preferred methods of travel because of the time it takes and because there are too few technological supports,” she said.  

“It’s hard to work on the train … communications is an issue.”

Upgrades to the Sydney to Canberra rail link are expected to commence this year, and will span up to five years.

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