Rail journeys in the UK might fill some people with dread these days but in one part of the world there’s a train so luxurious people pay to spend 72 hours on the tracks travelling nearly 3,000 miles.
The India-Pacific train travels from Perth, Western Australia, to Sydney, New South Wales, covering an astonishing trans-continental distance taking in the breathtaking remote interior of Australia.
Travellers are treated to some incredible sights on the journey that takes in the vast emptiness of regions like the almost treeless Nullarbor Plain, the shifting sands of the Great Victoria Desert, the rocky Flinders Ranges and the lush vegetation of the Blue Mountains near Sydney.
Prices for the epic excursion vary between around £1,300 for an advance ticket to upwards of £3,600 for the platinum experience, depending on the time of year.
Passengers can enjoy sumptuous dinners in the Queen Adelaide Restaurant Car or socialising in the Outback Explorer Lounge bar, where they might see from the window a passing kangaroo, or even a camel.
Platinum ticket holders can enjoy luxury en-suite private cabins for a Agatha Christie-esque experience transporting them back to the golden age of trains.
Just like a land-based cruise ship, the train does offer a chance for those on board to stretch their legs occasionally stopping at local towns including Kalgoorlie, which in the 1800s was the site of a booming gold rush.
The India-Pacific website describes the entire journey as a whole as “fabled”, adding guests can “follow the path of bush pioneers, gold rush prospectors, and legendary adventurers as you make an epic transcontinental crossing aboard the Indian Pacific”.
The enormous train, made up of up to 36 carriages, departs weekly all year round, with more expensive tickets on sale during the summer months, from November to February in the Southern Hemisphere.
In September 2020 ABC news reported the number of carriages on the Indian Pacific increased from 29 to 36 as part of a six million pound refurbishment.
The additional carriages extended the length of the train from 2460 feet to around 2887 feet, taking the capacity to 260 passengers and crew.
The locomotive takes its name from the Indian Ocean which surrounds Perth and the Pacific Ocean which lies off the coast of Sydney beyond the Tasman Sea.
The train averages around 52mph and reaches a maximum speed of up to 70mph on the longest straight stretches.
