Travelling by Train in Australia

Australia does not have a country wide well-connected railway net. Nevertheless, there are some popular tourist routes that can be travelled using different railway companies all over Australia. The routes from Brisbane to Cairns, Sydney to Perth, Darwin to Adelaide, Brisbane/Townsville to the outback are some of these. Rail Australia is the only company that can offer Australia wide trip bookings. Other than that, each state has its own railway company. The maps of the possible rail routes can be found at Australian Rail Maps web site.

It is possible to get a train journey even cheaper by using rail passes. There are different types of passes. Each of them are valid for a different period and they offer a variety of travelling options. For example, the possibility to step on and off... It is possible to buy Australia wide rail passes simply from Rail Australia. Some passes are subject to be sold only to foreign tourists. Therefore, it is recommended to always carry the passport with, since the staff on duty might check if the passport number matches the one on the rail pass.