Federal Member for Throsby Stephen Jones today welcomed the announcement that a stop on the proposed High Speed Rail (HSR) will be built in the East Mittagong.

This is great win for the Southern Highlands, said Jones.

I know there are a lot of people here who commute to Sydney everyday, which can be a more than three hour round trip, so being included on the High Speed Rail will cut that time down to just 30 minutes.

Itll give people a lot more spare time to spend with friends and family and really transform the way they live, work and spend leisure time in our region.

Its also great news for the local business and tourism industry, with around two-thirds of Australians living along the eastern seaboard.

Time between the Highlands and other regional areas such as Newcastle, Coffs Harbour and the Gold Coast will be less than two hours perfect for a weekend getaway or even a day trip."

This announcement comes as part of the Federal Governments second and final report investigating High Speed Rail in Australia, which was commissioned in 2010.

The study concludes that once fully operational, High Speed Rail could carry 84 million passengers each year and has the potential to deliver a net economic benefit and generate sufficient revenue to cover all operation and asset renewal costs.

High Speed Rail will be a monumental endeavour, with very real technical, logistical and financial challenges, said Jones.

Its definitely not something we want to rush, so this report will provide a good analysis from which we can start an informed public debate on the issue.

The Federal Governments program of public consultation and debate on the role High Speed Rail opened today. Feedback and views on the report and its findings from all interested parties are invited by 30 June 2013 via the website at www.infrastructure.gov.au/hsr.