Australia should “bite the bullet” and build a high-speed rail line between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, senior Labor figure Anthony Albanese said, in a sign the opposition is preparing to put the perennial election issue back on the agenda.

Labor’s federal infrastructure spokesman, who oversaw a $20 million study into the feasibility of east coast bullet trains in the previous Labor government, said it was time Australia moved beyond decades of talk about the project.

Both sides of politics say it's time for high-speed rail, but neither has committed money to it yet. Credit:Shutterstock

“We should bite the bullet and go for a high-speed rail connection not just through to Sydney but right through to Melbourne and then north to Brisbane,” Mr Albanese told Newcastle radio on Wednesday.

He said an initial route between Melbourne and Newcastle “would make the most sense”.