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Traveling by train in Australia
Australia is a huge country. And a great way to appreciate its vastness is to cross it at ground level by train. The famous Indian Pacific links Sydney, Adelaide & Perth in 3 days, crossing the great Nullarbor Plain in the process. Don't miss out on a visit to the 'red centre' of Australia around Alice Springs, and there's no better way to reach Alice Springs or Darwin than by the equally famous Ghan from Adelaide. In the East, comfortable XPT trains link Sydney with Melbourne & Brisbane. This page will show you the major rail services around Australia.
Since 1970, when standard gauge rail tracks were completed between Sydney and Perth, the Australian transcontinental train of note has been the Indian Pacific which ran east to west (and west to east) through the lower half of the continent, from Sydney through much of Outback New South Wales and South Australia and the Nullarbor Plain to Perth in Western Australia. For Australia, the Indian Pacific — linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans by land — carried with it the cachet of adventure and romance, much like the Orient Express and other great trains of the world. Now, not only is there an east-west continental crossing by rail but now competing for the mantra of romantic train travel is the Ghan which has traveled since 1927 between Adelaide in South Australia and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory but has now extended its south-north continental route — through the heart of Australia — to the Northern Territory capital, Darwin, at Australia's Top End.
The Indian Pacific...
One of the world's greatest rail journeys, the Indian Pacific links Sydney, Adelaide and Perth twice a week, all year round. It is now run by a private company called Great Southern Railway.  The 'IP' will take you from Sydney across the Blue Mountains and the arid country around Broken Hill (look out for kangaroo and emu at breakfast) to Adelaide, then across the hot, dusty emptiness of the famous Nullarbor Plain on the longest stretch of straight railway line in the world to the pleasant and modern city of Perth, capital of Western Australia. The train stops long enough for you to visit the tiny community of Cook on the Nullarbor Plain, and to spend an evening in the gold rush town of Kalgoorlie on the way. The Indian Pacific has only been running since the 1970s, when a standard gauge line was completed across the continent from Sydney to Perth, a distance of 4,343km or 2,698 miles.
On top of the world - Sydney Harbour Bridge Sydney
Sydney is a fantastic city. Take a tour of the opera house. Wander through the botanic gardens. Visit the observation deck of the Centrepoint Tower. Take a ferry from Circular Quay to Watson's Bay for fish and chips at Doyle's famous refreshment rooms. And why not do the incredible Sydney Harbour Bridge climb (pictured, right)..? From Aus$179 (£77), you are briefed and equipped for a walk up the girders of Sydney Harbour Bridge, for some fantastic views across the city, from the Pacific Ocean in the East to the Blue Mountains in the West. The bridge climb tour has been operating since October 1998. Visit www.bridgeclimb.com for information and booking.
The Blue Mountains
Hop on a double-deck suburban train from Sydney to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains - these run about every hour. A short walk from the station brings you to the Three Sisters rock formation, overlooking the breathtaking Jamieson Valley.
Melbourne
Don't forget to visit the museum in Melbourne's old gaol. Ned Kelly, Australia's most infamous outlaw, was imprisoned and hanged in Melbourne gaol, and his unique armour is still displayed there (pictured, right).
Take a ride on Melbourne's trams (there's even a restaurant in a tram - eat your dinner travelling round the Melbourne streets..!).
Don't drink this Jacob's Creek..!
Adelaide
Named after the wife of King William IV, Adelaide is a much smaller city than Sydney or Melbourne, and much more relaxed. Admirably well laid-out by its founder, Colonel William Light, the city centre is surrounded by parkland. On Montefiore Hill to the north of the centre, you can see 'Light's vision', where Colonel Light stood to map out his plan for the city.
It's worth hiring a car for a few days to visit some of the wine regions nearby, including the famous Barossa Valley.
Perth
Perth is the capital of Western Australia, a clean, modern city. Frequent electric trains link Perth with Fremantle. In the maritime museum in Fremantle are the remains of the Dutch East India company ship 'Batavia' (pictured, right). The ship was carrying a stone arch for the main gate of the city of Batavia (modern day Jakarta). Needless to say, the arch never arrived...
Europe to Australia by Trans-Siberian Railway...
It's possible to travel most of the way from London to Australia by train via the Trans-Siberian Railway. In fact, quite a number people travel this way. The links below cover travel in either direction, from London or to London.
Step 1: London to Moscow by train. Daily departures, 2 nights, from about £140 one-way with sleeper.
Step 2: Moscow to Beijing by Trans-Siberian Railway Two trains a week, 6 nights, from about $350 one-way in 4-bed sleeper.
Step 3: Beijing to Hanoi by train Two trains a week, 2 nights, about $110 one-way in soft sleeper.
Step 4: Hanoi to Saigon by train Range of trains daily, 2 nights. Why not stop off to see Hue or Hoi An? About $60 one-way in soft sleeper.
Step 5: Saigon-Phnom Penh by bus Daily, 8 hours, fare $12..
Step 6: Phnom Penh-Battambang by train or bus, bus to the frontier, train to Bangkok 2 days, cost perhaps $15.
Step 7: Bangkok to Singapore by train. Daily, 2 nights, from $50 including sleeper for both nights.
Step 8: The final leg to Australia is the problem. Although there are ferries from Singapore to Indonesia, there are no regular passenger ships to Australia from either Singapore or Indonesia. Unless you can find a cruise or passenger-carrying freighter, your only option for the last leg from Southeast Asia to Australia may be by air. To find out about freighter travel, try www.strandtravel.co.uk, CruiseAZ, www.cruisepeople.co.uk, www.freightercruises.com & www.freighterworld.com.
There is no one agency who can arrange all the stages of a trip like this, so you will need to plan it and arrange each leg yourself - a small exercise in project management..! Just follow the advice on each seat61 page to buy tickets for each part of the journey. Some of this trip is best pre-booked (for example London-Moscow-Beijing-Hanoi), other sections are best booked as you go (for example, Saigon-Phnom Penh and Phnom Penh-Bangkok). Where do you start? Read through the seat61 pages linked above, then sketch out your itinerary using a simple spreadsheet like this.
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