Australia is a big country, and the locals tend to prefer air travel for long distances. There’s a substantial commuter public transport rail network within the state capital cities, with a smaller network within states and across the country. This page deals with the national and intra-state rail network, and some tourist railways that are worth visiting.
Australian trains are hygienic, safe and comfortable, if not necessarily swift. These rail journeys can be major tourist adventures in themselves.
The Rail Australia website is here and rail passes for selected regions are available from them here.
The Man in Seat 61’s tourist rail website is here.
Trans Australian Rail Journeys
There are two major Trans Australian rail jouneys: The Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide and the Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney. These transcontinental journeys offer you a comprehensive, authentic, Australian experience through a vast variety of landscapes.
The Ghan
The Ghan covers a distance of 2979km, over two nights, running twice weekly from Adelaide, through Alice Springs to Darwin, or vice versa.
The Indian Pacific
The Indian Pacific covers 4352km, over three3 nights, running twice weekly from Sydney via Adelaide to Perth, or vice versa.
The Southern Spirit
The Southern Spirit is a once-per-year journey over 14 days from Brisbane to Alice Springs, via Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide.
State Rail Journeys
New South Wales
The XPT Network has three routes - one from Sydney to Melbourne (via Goulburn, Wagga Wagga and Albury), one from Sydney to Dubbo (via Bathurst), and one from Sydney to Brisbane (via the North Coast of NSW - not all trains go all the way to Brisbane). Melbourne trains run twice a day, Dubbo trains once a day, and Brisbane once a day (although a second shorter journey with a connecting bus service is available as a second trip).
The Xplorer Network has a number of routes - from Sydney to the national capital, Canberra, Sydney to Armidale and Moree in the north-west of NSW, Sydney to Griffith in the Riverina area, and Sydney to Broken Hill and the far west. The Griffith and Broken Hill services only run once a week, the others at least daily.
Victoria
The Overland runs a daylight service between Adelaide and Melbourne a distance of 828km, three times weekly. The Overland links Melbourne with two of Australia's great trains; the mighty Indian Pacific which traverses this huge continent between Sydney and Perth, via Adelaide, and the legendary Ghan, travelling between Adelaide and Darwin.
V/Line is Victoria's intercity and country rail system. Services from Melbourne run to the cities of Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Albury/Wodonga, and the towns of Warrnambool on the south-west coast, Bairnsdale in the south-east, Shepparton, Swan Hill, Echuca in the north; and Ararat in the west.
South Australia
The Ghan, Indian Pacific and Overland run through South Australia, making Adelaide the hub for the national train network. The Indian Pacific and The Ghan also serve the cities of Port Augusta and Port Pirie, and the Overland serves the city of Murray Bridge.
Queensland
Eight trains explore the beautiful sunshine state, from the city of Brisbane along the cost to the tropical north and into the outback.
The Gulflander - fondly referred to as the old 'tin hare' – runs once a week, 152km in 5 hours, from remote Normanton to Croydon through the tough and inhospitable Gulf Country. It is one of the world's last great characters of rail travel and offers you a unique experience. The Gulflander only carries a small number of passengers, so there's always a friendly casual atmosphere on board, which is all part of the charm.
The Sunlander runs 1681km in 32 hours, three times per week from Brisbane to Cairns along the coast.
The Tilt Train follows the same route as the Sunlander a little more swiftly in 25 hours.
The Inlander runs 977 km, twice weekly, from Townsville to Mount Isa, through Charters Towers, across the Great Dividing Range and through the mining towns of Hughenden and Julia Creek.
The Savannahlander is a classic 1960 Rail Motor which travels between Cairns and Forsayth – a distance of 423km over two days, three times a week.
The Spirit of the Outback runs from Brisbane to Longreach, a distance of 1324km in 24 hours, twice weekly, through the heritage towns of Blackwater, Emerald and Barcaldine.
The Westlander runs 777km in 17hours from Brisbane across the Great Dividing Range,through the rich farmlands of the Darling Downs, Cunnamulla and Quilpie to Charleville, twice weekly.
Western Australia
The Australind runs from Perth to Bunbury – a distance 181km – twice a day in each direction in 2 hours and 30 minutes.
The Avonlink operates twice daily, Monday to Friday between Midland, Toodyay and Northam, a distance of 120km. Passengers are able to connect with Perth's suburban electric train services at Midland.
The MerredinLink operates from the East Perth Rail Terminal through to Merredin on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The Prospector runs from Perth to Kalgoorlie – a distance of 655km - once a day each way and twice on Monday and Friday in 6hours 45minutes.
Northern Territory
The legendary Ghan travels from Darwin in the top end of the country through the heart of Australia to Alice Springs, the gateway to Uluru.
Notable Tourist Railways
New South Wales
The Zig Zag Railway is an historic tourist railway that runs from Clarence Station near Lithgow in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. It is a narrow guage switch back line operated entirely by volunteers and offers daily trips with regular themed trips such as "Thomas the Tank Engine" and "Harry Potters Wizard Express".
Victoria
Puffing Billy is a century-old steam train that is still running on its original mountain track from Belgrave to Gembrook in the scenic Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne. Operated by volunteers it also offers the opportunity to drive a steam locomotive along a winding, steeply graded narrow-gauge railway, through a variety of scenery.
Bellarine Peninsula Railway operates steam and diesel locomotives between Queenscliff and Drysdale on the Bellearine peninsula near Geelong. It has a regular weekly service on Sundays, and runs extra services during summer. It also has a Thomas the Tank Engine train.
Queensland
The Kuranda Scenic Railway runs twice daily from Cairns to Kuranda – a distance of 34km – in 90 minutes. It is a spectacular journey comprising unsurpassed views of World Heritage Listed rainforest, steep ravines and picturesque waterfalls within the Barron Gorge National Park.
The Mary Valley Heritage Railway (known as the Valley Rattler) runs three times a week (Wednesday, saturday and Sunday) from the Old Gympie Station through Gympie and stops at several towns in the Mary Valley. There is also a rail motor run on tuesdays.
South Australia
The Pichi Richi Railway runs steam and diesel services betwen Quorn and Port Augusta in South Australia's Flinders Ranges, on selected days in autumn, winter and spring months, following part of the original Transcontinental line from Adelaide to Alice Springs.
Tasmania
The West Coast Wilderness Railway runs once each way per day from Strahan to Queenstown over a 35km route in about 4 hours. Along the way, the train stops at stations of the past - Lower Landing, Dubbil Barril, Rinadeena - where trained guides bring to life the stories of these historic points on the railway.
The Ida Bay Railway runs several times a day from October to April, but on a reduced schedule in winter. The 14km route is Australia's most southerly railway. The WWII era Malcolm Moore diesel locos have been operating on the line since 1948.