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10 days, 7100km train journey across Australia, Cairns to Perth by rail



This is my ultimate guide to train travel in Australia. I spent 10 days in late June to travel over 7100km from Cairns to Perth via Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Cairns is the north-most railway station in Australia that is still regularly served by a government-run long-distance not-for-profit passenger train, and Perth is the western end of Australia’s standard gauge rail network. I would like to summarise and compare the different passenger trains in Australia in one video before I move on and show you the train journeys in other parts of the world. I hope you will enjoy the video. Let’s go!

This video was filmed from 25 June to 30 July.
Day 1
00:00 Intro – Cairns, QLD
02:00 Spirit of Queensland train overview
07:38 Spirit of Queensland Railbed Cairns to Brisbane
Day 2
17:07 Sofitel Brisbane Central
Day 3
18:19 NSW TrainLink coach Brisbane to Casino
23:30 NSW XPT train overview
29:33 NSW XPT First Class Sleeper Casino to Sydney
Day 4
36:56 Travelodge Hotel Hurstville Sydney
Day 5
38:38 NSW Xplorer train overview
42:50 NSW Xplorer train Economy Class Sydney to Canberra
48:10 Deco Hotel Canberra
Day 6
50:20 V/Line coach Canberra to Wodonga
54:52 V/Line N set train First Class Wodonga to Melbourne
01:04:16 Oaks Melbourne South Yarra Suites
Day 7
01:06:20 the Overland train overview
01:10:35 the Overland train Red Premium Melbourne to Adelaide
Day 8 – 10
01:20:04 Indian Pacific Gold Twin Adelaide to Perth

The GHAN $7,000 Platinum Class Adelaide to Darwin – 3,000km luxurious train journey across Australia: https://youtu.be/llxr70sFWB4
Christmas on the Great Southern Train – Australia’s newest luxury rail journey Adelaide to Brisbane: https://youtu.be/WwJLTROA7Z0
Indian Pacific Gold Single Sydney to Adelaide: https://youtu.be/pC9SAoNX4tw
The Overland train Red Premium class from Melbourne to Adelaide: https://youtu.be/QsGZZdbAlcQ
Travelling on every type of V/Line train in ONE DAY! Long-distance rail travel in Victoria: https://youtu.be/_OX0sTjdBaU
Adelaide’s new Gawler rail line opening day – catching the first electric train to Gawler Central: https://youtu.be/kIqButgZbxk

Qantas QF2 B787 Business Class Darwin to Sydney – a domestic international flight! https://youtu.be/FHcDorXrmWo
Transwa Australind Perth to Bunbury: https://youtu.be/m6GLBrtwH4g
Travelling on the Old Ghan Railway – Pichi Richi Afghan Express Port Augusta to Quorn return https://youtu.be/nuFYBlh9KWM
The Inlander Townsville to Mount Isa: https://youtu.be/l97k6Rk8mR8
Spirit of Queensland Railbed Sleeper Cairns to Brisbane: https://youtu.be/D1hRL_xiYXI
Transwa Prospector Train Perth to Kalgoorlie – The Fastest Service in Australia: https://youtu.be/FhFQfeUvKaI
The Fastest Train in Australia – Tilt Train Business Class Brisbane to Rockhampton: https://youtu.be/n3ZDMh1JLDM
The Westlander Train Toowoomba to Queensland: https://youtu.be/V39L8pP5dZg
Riding on Locomotive 3801, a legend of steam: https://youtu.be/wvuymG4Er90
The Overland train Red Premium class from Melbourne to Adelaide: https://youtu.be/QsGZZdbAlcQ
First Class Spirit of the Outback train from Brisbane to Longreach: https://youtu.be/Lb4snTmxreU
Premium Economy Class Spirit of Queensland from Townsville to Cairns: https://youtu.be/ewj5HyNUxw0
NSW XPT First class sleeper from Sydney to Melbourne: https://youtu.be/WrXUf0Q7pUM
NSW XPT Economy class from Canberra to Melbourne via Yass: https://youtu.be/7j-K7NAxvNo
Canberra to Melbourne by trains only, Xplorer + XPT: https://youtu.be/Ck-TWprVodI
First Class V/Line N class from Melbourne to Wodonga: https://youtu.be/2jxurlLMEYo
First Class NSW Xplorer train from Sydney to Canberra: https://youtu.be/QmABDqeX9ng
Trainspotting at Wondabyne station: https://youtu.be/KJX2AIa4PIY

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#Indianpacific #LuxuryTravel #Trains #AustralianTrains #travelAustralia #AdelaidetoDarwin #Sydney #Adelaide #Brisbane #Melbourne #Perth #XPT #Nighttrains #holiday #honeymoon #vacation

30 Comments

  1. Indian Pacific prices are nuts! I travelled from Perth to Adelaide for $110 in a first class single cabin in 1986. I travelled from Melbourne to Perth by bus for $80 in 48 hours non-stop.

  2. You are a good narrator, you should add sign seeing and interesting landmarks around each stop as well.😊

  3. This video is the reason why I actually check regularly for updates on your channel. I'm sure it's a great video. Gonna watch it now. Keep up the good work Rory. Great Content.

  4. My family were involved in the construction of the carriages of the overland.
    I miss the overnight service it originally offered

  5. my hat off to you rory, i thought i was hard core. in 1996 i travelled sydney-brisbane on the overnight xpt and then on the old diesel hauled sunlander 34hr direct to cairns.

  6. Hi Rory great video as always. Just wondering do you think taking a train is must less expensive and less stress than taking the caravan?

  7. Thanks for the tour 🙂 With those XPT Shaver power outlets, you can charge a battery bank off them safely & then charge your devices from that, even if the bank is still powered from the outlet. This is the safe way of doing of using those type of sockets because it eliminates power spikes.

  8. A very informative tour. This video should be viewd by all the so called Transport Ministers in each State Governemnt to point out what a mess and discrace they have turned our Public Transport into around the country.

  9. About to go on the Overland in a week, it's good to know in advance which platform it might be and where to drop off my luggage!

  10. Thanks for posting your full, epic train journey! The information about which trains to take, what to avoid and how the rolling stock is changing were super interesting – and that behind-the-scenes look at the kitchen – simply great!!
    I hope that you can come to Germany and try out some of our trains (or the Austrian NightJets).

  11. Great work! That's a pretty awesome trip – I'm doing one similar next month – Gold Coast to Broken Hill, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney – all by train and bus ( 3 NSW Trainlink XPTs, 1 NSW Tralink Xplorer, 2 NSW Trainlink Coaches and The Overland) – and that's not including the heritage trains and rail museums I plan to go on.

  12. Hi Rory would be interested is there an itinerary yoh can post to match it all up for other wanting to do the same. Did you crowdsource this one?

  13. 36:28
    Central Platforms 13 & 14 will be used as regular intercity/regional platforms once they reopen.
    Two new platforms underground will be used for the metro (current guess is they'll get the 26 & 27 numbers, as the ghost platforms are in use by the Metro system for High Voltage equipment)

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