Indian Pacific

Indian Pacific
An Indian Pacific train at Werrington station
Overview
Service typeTranscontinental passenger rail
StatusOperating
LocaleAustralia
First service23 February 1970
Current operator(s)Journey Beyond, a division of Hornblower Group.
Former operator(s)Department of Railways New South Wales
South Australian Railways
Commonwealth Railways
Western Australian Government Railways
Australian National
Route
TerminiSydney Central
East Perth Terminal
Distance travelled4,352 km (2,704.21 mi)
Average journey time70.5–75 hours
Service frequencyWeekly
Line(s) usedMain Western
Broken Hill
Broken Hill-Crystal Brook
Crystal Brook-Adelaide
Trans-Australian
Eastern Goldfields
Eastern
On-board services
Seating arrangementsNo[1]
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Auto-rack arrangementsYes
Technical
Rolling stockCommonwealth Railways stainless steel carriage stock
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Operating speed115 km/h[2]
Average length774 m (2,539 ft)[3]
Route map
East Perth
Kalgoorlie
Rawlinna
Cook
Adelaide
Broken Hill
Mount Victoria
Sydney

The Indian Pacific is a weekly experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, like its counterpart in the north–south corridor, The Ghan, one of the few truly transcontinental trains in the world. It first ran in 1970 after the completion of gauge conversion projects in South Australia and Western Australia, enabling for the first time a cross-continental rail journey that did not have a break of gauge.

The train has been rated as one of the great rail journeys of the world.[4] Its route includes the world's longest straight stretch of railway track, a 478-kilometre (297 mi) stretch of the Trans-Australian Railway across the Nullarbor Plain.[5]

The service was originally operated jointly by four government railway administrations: the Department of Railways New South Wales, South Australian Railways, Commonwealth Railways and Western Australian Government Railways, until February 1993 when Australian National took full ownership. In 1997, the Indian Pacific was sold to Great Southern Rail and, subsequently, branded as Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions then Journey Beyond during several changes in corporate ownership.

A one-way trip takes between 70.5 and 75 hours, depending on scheduling and daylight saving periods.[6] As of 2022, two levels of service were offered, branded as Platinum and Gold.[7] A motorail service conveys passengers' motor vehicles on the train between Adelaide and Perth.[8]

  1. ^ Tomlin, Sam (8 March 2016). "Railway for high rollers as Indian Pacific cuts economy class". ABC News. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. ^ "The Indian Pacific". Great Southern Rail. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  3. ^ "About the Indian Pacific". Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. ^ "TrainReview – Indian Pacific traveller ratings". Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  5. ^ "The Nullarbor Plain Or Nullarbor Desert". Outback Australia Travel Guide. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Indian Pacific Timetables". Great Southern Rail. 2018. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  7. ^ "The Indian Pacific 2022 fares and timetables". Journey Beyond Rail. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Taking your car – Indian Pacific". Great Southern Rail. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.