There are many forms of transport in Australia. Australia is highly dependent on road transport. There are more than 300 airports with paved runways. Passenger rail transport includes widespread commuter networks in the major capital cities with more limited intercity and interstate networks. The Australian mining sector is reliant upon rail to transport its product to Australia's ports for export.
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance commuter rail trains within one city area nor slow regional rail trains stopping at all stations and covering local journeys only. An inter-city train is typically an express train with limited stops and comfortable carriages to serve long-distance travel.
The Ghan is an experiential tourism oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor. Operated by Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions, its scheduled travelling time, including extended stops for passengers to do off-train tours, is 53 hours 15 minutes to travel the 2,979 kilometres (1,851 mi). The Ghan has been described as one of the world's great passenger trains.
The Indian Pacific is a weekly experiential tourism 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.
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining rolling stock and approximately 6,600 kilometres (4,101 mi) of track and related infrastructure.
Rail transport in Australia is a component of the Australian transport system. It is to a large extent state-based, as each state largely has its own operations, with the interstate network being developed ever since Australia's federation in 1901. As of 2022, the Australian rail network consists of a total of 32,929 kilometres (20,461 mi) of track built to three major track gauges: 18,007 kilometres (11,189 mi) of standard gauge, 2,685 kilometres (1,668 mi) of broad gauge, and 11,914 kilometres (7,403 mi) of narrow gauge lines. Additionally, about 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) of 610 mm / 2 ft gauge lines support the sugar-cane industry. 3,488 kilometres (2,167 mi), around 11 per cent of the Australian heavy railways network route-kilometres are electrified.
The rail network in Adelaide, South Australia, consists of four lines and 89 stations, totalling 132 km (82 mi). It is operated by Keolis Downer under contract from the Government of South Australia, and is part of the citywide Adelaide Metro public transport system.
The Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra. As of 1988, the line closed progressively north of Armidale with services gradually withdrawn till 2004, with the main route between Sydney and Brisbane now the North Coast line.
The Overland is an Australian passenger train service between the state capitals of Melbourne and Adelaide, a distance of 828 km (515 mi). It first ran in 1887 as the Adelaide Express, known by South Australians as the Melbourne Express. It was given its current name in 1926. Now operated by private company Journey Beyond, the train undertakes two return trips a week. Originally an overnight train that stopped at large intermediate stations, it now operates during the day, stopping less frequently. The Overland was converted to standard gauge in the 1990s and now operates from Melbourne over the longer standard gauge line initially heading south to the port city of Geelong, before returning to its original route in Ararat. After departing Ararat the train stops in the Victorian towns of Stawell, Horsham, Dimboola and Nhill before crossing the South Australian border. The final stretch into Adelaide, after crossing the Murray River is over the scenic Adelaide Hills. The train contains Red Premium and Red seated accommodation and a bar/lounge car, Café 828.
The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the eastern states, the line is strategically important. The railway includes the world's longest section of completely straight track.
Adelaide Parklands Terminal, formerly known as Keswick Terminal, is the interstate passenger railway station in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the only station in the world where passengers can board trains on both north-south and east-west transcontinental routes.
Journey Beyond is the business name of Experience Australia Group Pty Ltd, a private-equity-owned company, known mainly for operating Australian interstate experiential tourism trains. As of December 2021, the company was a diversified tourism business based in Adelaide, South Australia, with interests in cruise and air tourism in addition to rail. In January 2022, the United States travel company the Hornblower Group acquired the business from Quadrant Private Equity, which had owned it since 2016.
Transport in Sydney is provided by an extensive network of public transport operating modes including metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail, as well as an expansive network of roadways, cycleways and airports. According to the 2006 census, in terms of travel to work or study Sydney has the highest rate of public transport usage among the Australian capital cities of 26.3% with more than 80% of weekday trips to/from Central Sydney being made by public transport. According to the New South Wales State Plan, the state has Australia's largest public transport system. The public transport network is regulated by Transport for NSW.
Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland, has a network of suburban railways that carry commuters, long-distance passengers, and freight. Suburban and interurban passenger services in Brisbane and South East Queensland are operated by the Queensland Rail City network, a branch of Queensland Rail, which operates long-distance trains across the state. Aurizon and Pacific National operate freight services.
The Southern Spirit was a luxury rail cruise train operated by Great Southern Rail in Australia. The train was launched in June 2008 and was planned to travel all over Australia, with the first service originally planned to have run in November 2008. The train was planned to operate from November to February each year, and combine train travel with overnight hotel stays, and other experiences similar to land excursions during sea cruises.
The Southern railway line serves the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The 197-kilometre (122 mi) long line branches from the Western line at Toowoomba, 161 kilometres (100 mi) west of Brisbane, and proceeds south through Warwick and Stanthorpe to the New South Wales/Queensland state border at Wallangarra.
Luxury trains are a premium travel option designed to offer a comfortable ride and evoke an association with history and heritage. Some luxury trains promote tourism in destinations across a region, while others take passengers on a long, leisurely ride through a single country.
NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary intercity and regional services are spread throughout five major rail lines, operating out of Sydney's Central railway station.
The Western railway line is a narrow gauge railway, connecting the south-east and south-west regions of Queensland, Australia. It commences at Toowoomba, at the end of the Main Line railway from Brisbane, and extends west 810 km to Cunnamulla, passing through the major towns of Dalby, Roma and Charleville, although services on the 184 km section from Westgate to Cunnamulla have been suspended since 2011. The Queensland Government was the first railway operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge for a main line, and this remains the system-wide gauge.
The Electric Tilt Train is the name for two identical high-speed tilting trains operated by Queensland Rail on the North Coast line from Brisbane to Bundaberg and Rockhampton which entered service in November 1998.
