On the Rails Travel: A Guide to Seeing Australia By Train

Australia is a huge country, with an enormous amount of ground for travellers to cover. As diverse as it is vast, to get a true taste of all that Australia has to offer, you will need to ensure that you experience as much of the country as you possibly can. While air travel can be a great way to move around the country, you don’t see anything between taking off from one airport and landing in the next.

This means you miss out on some of the most breathtaking scenery, off the beaten track destinations and the best experiences the country has to offer. Train travel, on the other hand, allows you to travel in comfort and enjoy expansive views from your window as you travel through the country. You can stop in small towns, build your own itinerary and travel on a budget or in luxury depending on your style. Travelling by train, you can gain a fresh perspective of Australia and ensure that you get the very most out of your time travelling down under.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular train routes that you can intertwine to create your very own Aussie railway adventure.

Preparing Ahead Of Time

When you’re planning your train journey across Australia, it’s important to organise as much as you can ahead of time. If you are connecting multiple routes, it is wise to book your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment. In the high season, it is also wise to book your accommodation ahead of time too as places can fill up quickly. Finally, don’t forget to organise adequate travel insurance for your trip. There are many domestic travel insurance packages that you can choose from to find a policy that meets your requirements.

Gulf Savannah To The Pacific Coast

Located in the northwest of Queensland, the Gulf Savannah is a beautiful grassland region peppered with trees and punctuated by rivers. From this starting point, you can begin in Mt Isa where you can explore one of Queensland’s longest-operating mining towns. Next, take the beautiful twenty-one-hour train ride to Townsville through the open savannah to the lush landscapes located east of the Dividing Range on Queensland Rail’s Inlander Train.

Northern Queensland To Brisbane

Jump aboard the super-modern Spirit of Queensland in Cairns to Townsville and sit back and relax on the ride to Brisbane. The journey takes you east of the Great Dividing Range and continues all the way to Queensland capital. If you tire of the stunning views, there is seatback entertainment and a dining car to keep you occupied.

Brisbane to Sydney

The train trip from Brisbane to Sydney takes fourteen hours taking you through the lush Border Ranges, through native woodlands, small towns and passengers will be treated to amazing views of Coffs Harbour. From here, the train ride takes you through some epic vistas just east of Barrington Tops National, before you start to approach Sydney Central Station.

Sydney to Melbourne

The trains from Sydney to Melbourne takes eleven hours, veering west around the Snowy Mountains and straight through Albury on the border before crossing the Murray River as you enter the state of Victoria. The scenery along this stretch is beautiful and makes for a much better experience than flying.

Travel By Train And Create Your Perfect Travel Itinerary

As well as the routes above, there is also the famous Ghan railway that takes you through the Red Centre, stopping at Alice Springs on an epic fifty-three-hour journey. There’s also the Indian Pacific that connects Adelaide with Perth and there are other train routes around the country that you can tie into your itinerary. However, you choose to link these incredible train journeys together, travelling by rail will allow you to create an itinerary tailored to your interests so that you get the most out of your travels in Australia.