Hassell, part of GoFar Joint Venture, shortlisted for Australia’s first high speed rail station

Hassell has been shortlisted, as part of the GoFar Joint Venture, to help test and refine the design of Australia’s first high speed rail station in Gosford, NSW.

It’s a milestone that positions Hassell at the centre of one of the nation’s most consequential infrastructure undertakings in a generation. 

The High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) has named GoFar — a consortium made up of CPB Contractors, Ferrovial Construction (Australia) and VINCI Construction Grands Projects Australia — as one of three consortia selected for an Early Contractor Involvement process on Area Package 1, the section of the Newcastle to Sydney line running between Berowra and Ourimbah. The package includes 35 kilometres of twin tunnels and the proposed Central Coast High Speed Rail Station at Gosford.

A NATION-BUILDING PROJECT — AND A NEW CHAPTER FOR GOSFORD

For Hassell, working within the GoFar team, the news marks a foothold on a project expected to reshape how New South Wales grows, connects and competes over the coming decades. Beyond faster journeys between Newcastle, the Central Coast and Sydney, the HSRA has set out a vision for the line to unlock new patterns of living and working, and to open up housing, employment and services for communities along the corridor.

Nowhere is that ambition more pronounced than in Gosford. Confirmed by the HSRA as the site of an underground Central Coast station, the project is intended as a catalyst for the city’s renewal. It reinforces Gosford’s role as a regional capital and gateway to the Central Coast, aligning new density and infrastructure with the NSW Government’s and Central Coast Council’s broader growth plans.

LOCAL DEPTH, GLOBAL EXPERTISE

Hassell’s approach, as part of the GoFar team, draws on our experience across transport architecture, urban design, landscape architecture and customer experience — capabilities honed on major Australian transit projects including Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line and Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel. 

Few firms bring the depth of local rail experience Hassell does. We’ve deliberately paired that local expertise with international high speed rail specialists, bringing the best of global thinking to a station — and a system — that will be distinctly Australian.

“Our track record shows how thoughtfully planned stations can strengthen links between transport hubs and surrounding neighbourhoods and deliver benefits that extend well beyond the rail corridor itself.” 

— Ewen Wright, Principal and transport infrastructure architect at Hassell.

Sustainability will sit at the heart of the design response. The HSRA has set objectives to reduce private vehicle dependence, build a resilient network and minimise impacts on the environment and biodiversity, in step with Australia’s net-zero commitments. At Gosford, that translates into a station designed around active transport, urban design that makes it easy to walk, cycle or switch between train, bus and bike, and urban greening — growth that respects the city’s coastal and bushland setting.

The Early Contractor Involvement process will see GoFar refine the design, cost and delivery approach for Area Package 1. 

For Hassell, the opportunity is one we frame in civic as much as technical terms: a chance to help deliver a station that is operationally excellent, sustainable and distinctly Gosford — and, in doing so, to help set the benchmark for every station and every stage that follows, as this nation-building project takes shape.