High-speed rail appointments to put major plan on track

Fast trains connecting Sydney to Newcastle and Melbourne to Brisbane will be the responsibility of a new authority as the federal government announces key board appointments.

Jill Rossouw will chair the board of the high-speed rail authority, which will formally begin operating on June 13.

Ms Roussow is currently the infrastructure executive director at IFM Investors and a board member of the Port of Brisbane.

Other infrastructure experts joining the board are Gillian Brown, Diane Crowther, Ian Hunt and Neil Scales.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King announced the appointments after a merit-based process to select the new members of the authority.

She said each board member had extensive qualifications, knowledge and experience to make high-speed trains in Australia a reality.

The government set up the authority to oversee the development of a high-speed rail network on the east coast.

The long-term infrastructure project would ultimately allow passengers to travel between major cities and significant regional cities at more than 250km/h.

A first priority for the authority will be planning and corridor works for the Sydney to Newcastle section of the high-speed network.