Labor promises $500m to start Sydney to Newcastle fast rail

Fast rail linking Sydney and the Hunter will be prioritised under a Labor government, opposition leader Anthony Albanese says.

A first step towards high-speed rail linking major cities, the route would deliver speeds of more than 250km/h, cutting the journey time from Sydney to Newcastle to 45 minutes, down from two-and-a-half hours.

The most recent report into high-speed rail found the Sydney to Newcastle route should be the first component of an eventual line to Brisbane.

The infrastructure minister, Paul Fletcher, said Labor needed to explain where the money would come from.

Albanese outlined his vision for high-speed rail between Brisbane and Melbourne at a speech in Newcastle on Sunday, saying his government would make the works a key priority for a new high-speed rail authority, and provide $500m funding in its first budget to begin corridor acquisition, planning and early works.

Committee for Sydney CEO Gabriel Metcalf said the rail improvements would give people more choice about where they work and where they live.

The opposition leader also announced his government would reverse $500,000 of funding cuts to the GP Access After Hours service in the Hunter region.

The prime minister Scott Morrison said the government would refuse PEP-11 in mid-December after community backlash.

Labor is defending its narrowly held Hunter seat with incumbent Joel Fitzgibbon stepping down at the next election.

The party is also fending off a coalition campaign in the neighbouring Hawkesbury-based seat Macquarie, the Maitland-based seat Paterson and in the Central Coast seat Dobell.