Federal Parliament is expected to be told this week of a political breakthrough on high-speed rail, which will result in the project gaining a higher priority on the national agenda.
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Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss is, for the first time, committing the Coalition to preserving a land corridor for the train to run between Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.
He will write to the three premiers and ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher seeking their co-operation.
He said the corridor would be a multibillion-dollar commitment.
''You cannot designate a corridor through our cities, suburbs, towns and rural landscapes without being willing to purchase the affected lands, and that will be expensive and without an immediate return,'' he told a rail conference in Sydney.
