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There’s no better way to relax and enjoy this vast continent than from the comfort of a train carriage. This page features all the great options for seniors touring Australia by train.
Sometimes I sits and thinks .. and sometimes I just sits.
And there’s NO where better to do this than on a train.
Read about some journeys we’ve enjoyed below.
Even if you’re not eligible to receive a Pension or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card entitlements, you can still save up to 25% on Great Southern Rail services.
The funding of rail travel for State and Territory Seniors’ Card holders means new concession fare privileges are now available to Seniors’ Card holders. The new funding allows GSR to extend the concession savings for seniors to as much as 25% off standard adult everyday fares. The savings are available in Gold Service and Red Service on The Ghan, The Indian Pacific and The Overland.
Seniors’ Card holders wishing to take advantage of these savings need to register for a GSR Seniors Concession Travel Card. The reduced fares are not available with existing Seniors’ Cards unless you are entitled to Pension or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card entitlements.
Register for the GSR Seniors Concession Travel Card and you could win a trip for two on the legendary Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide in Gold Service. For more details, visit GSR.
Kick back, relax and enjoy some of the best train journeys in the world, through the centre of Australia.
The 2008–09 Australia’s Great Train Holidays brochure is now available, with loads of information and new package, tour and accommodation options.
The adventure of train travel across this great southern land offers passengers an unparalleled variety of authentic Australian experiences. Travel on The Ghan, Indian Pacific or The Overland and experience Australia as never before.
If you are an Australian Pension and Commonwealth Senior Health Card holder an unforgettable train holiday is made even easier. With these cards you are eligible to save up to 55% on Great Southern Rail services. You can get even more generous concessions by using your Pension Free Travel Voucher*. This makes your next train holiday within easy reach.
*Conditions apply. Visit www.gsr.com.au for full terms and conditions.
THE LEGENDARY GHAN
The name The Ghan was inspired by the pioneering Afghan cameleers who blazed a permanent trail into the Red Centre of Australia over 150 years ago.
Boarding The Ghan in Adelaide or Darwin, you’ll experience one of the most fascinating great train journeys of the world. Marvel at the spectacular Australian landscapes; from the rusty reds of the MacDonnell Ranges surrounding the fascinating town of Alice Springs, gateway to Uluru and the Red Centre, then north to Katherine and the lush tropical splendour of Darwin.
The north-south 2979km journey through outback Australia further enhances what is already considered one of the world’s great train experiences.
Great Southern Rail is also excited to announce that the new Platinum Service will be launched on The Ghan service departing Adelaide for Darwin on 10 September 2008 and ticket sales are now open for booking
Platinum Service is a new luxury level of train travel, like no other Australian train accommodation*. 
Platinum Cabins will be approximately twice the size of our standard Gold Twin Cabins with each room offering deluxe accommodation including double beds, spacious ensuite and 24 hour room service. They will have all the modern comforts, in a classic style, with a distinctly Australian character. The Ghan will now also offer accommodation options that rival the best world-class trains. This new service level is in addition to our existing Red and Gold Services, which will continue to operate on The Ghan. This means The Ghan will now cater to all budgets from Red Service the most economical way to travel, through to Gold Service for those holidaymakers who want to travel in comfort and now the deluxe offering of the new Platinum Service.
*Concession fares not applicable to Platinum Service.
THE MIGHTY INDIAN PACIFIC
The Indian Pacific travels an amazing 4352kms from the Indian Ocean in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. Unlike many other world-renowned train journeys, the Indian Pacific spends the majority of its time removed from civilization. From the barren Nullarbor Plains, where the uniquely Australian outback landscape stretches as far as the eye can see, to the lush green beauty of the Blue Mountains, the Indian Pacific traverses some of Australia’s most spectacular scenery.
There is no better way to see and feel the magic of the Australian continent than on the world famous Indian Pacific and witness parts of Australia that cannot be seen any other way.
THE OVERLAND
Travelling between Adelaide and Melbourne, The Overland began as the Intercolonial Express over 100 years ago. The century old name The Overland came from the affectionate term ‘Overlander’, an adventurer who had travelled across the country.
More than a century later, there’s no more relaxing way to enjoy the trip between Melbourne and Adelaide than on the newly refurbished Overland. The Overland provides a comfortable, relaxing way to travel between the cities or to ease into a great holiday in either Melbourne, Adelaide or their surrounding regions.
On board, The Overland guests have the choice of two levels of service; Red Service and Red Premium Service. Red Service offers a value for money option with all the comforts you need, while Red Premium gives guests more services and more personal space. Both service levels offer guests ample room to move around the train and stretch their legs. The licenced Café Carriage also provides the chance to meet your fellow travellers and socialise in a comfortable, friendly environment.
The Overland operates daylight services to and from Adelaide three times a week.
For further information or bookings visit www.gsr.com.au or call 13 21 47 .
The award winning West coast Wilderness Railway is now back on line after a short interruption to services in October.
Tasmania’s West Coast Wilderness Railway has resumed full services between Strahan and Queenstown after conducting repairs to the track following landslides in the area. Inspections of the railway are conducted daily to ensure full safety and comfort for passengers and staff.
The 35km railway journey, which has already won several national awards, was named Tasmania’s best Tourism Attraction in the Tasmanian Tourism Awards on November 2. The railway takes visitors on a journey into history, telling the inspiring stories of the pioneers who built the railway along steep-sided gorges, through hand-hewn rock cuttings and across a wild river more than 100 years ago.
For further information: www.puretasmania.com.au
Three world class treasure in one incredible journey, the mighty Indian Pacific, West Australia’s wildflowers plus the awe inspiring Nullarbor Plain. Step aboard the Indian Pacific on a Trainways tailored holiday to wildflower country. From the barren Nullarbor Plains to the lush green of the Blue Mountains, the Indian Pacific traverses some of the world’s most isolated and spectacular landscapes.
As you’d expect from the state that covers almost half the country, there’s a lot to love about Western Australia – and there is no better way to see it than on one of Australia’s Great Train Journeys the mighty Indian Pacific. Trainways is offering two train wildflower packages ‘Perth and Margaret River’ and ‘Explore the South West’. Guests can also extend their visit with a choice of optional tours that last from a few hours to over a week. The train departs Sydney and Perth twice a week. For bookings and further information on the Indian Pacific contact Trainways on 1300 13 21 47 or visit www.trainways.com.au
Queensland Rail (QR) flexible Wanderer and Stopover passes are a great way to see the beauty of Queensland at your leisure.
The Wanderer rail pass provides six months of unlimited one-way travel, in economy seating, on Queensland’s coastal trains – with departures from Brisbane or Cairns. The Stopover Fare lets travellers choose to stop once, twice or three times in four weeks when travelling on Queensland Rail’s Tilt Train business service. If you are looking for an extended and easy going trip, try taking the train. For more information, click here
For those who are flat out, there’s no better time-out than that experienced crossing the Nullabor on board the legendary Indian Pacific.
Time out is a precious commodity and while many of us passionately long for a break from working life, all too often on holidays we set ourselves such a frenetic pace, relentlessly driving down country roads, ticking a comprehensive list of top tourist spot, before returning home footsore and fretful rather than relaxed and rejuvenated.
The good news is that there still exists a mode of travel guaranteed to deliver three full days to contemplate the Australian landscape, the meaning of life, or your navel, if that’s your preference. It’s that rare and precious commodity so often promised, so rarely delivered – total time out! And it’s waiting for you onboard the Indian Pacific, the kilometre-long silver streak, which crosses the continent twice a week.
In an age when travel is personified by the impersonal air travel experience, train travel offers a refreshing reality check. Going Gold Kangaroo class on the Indian Pacific means no luggage restrictions, no tedious security checks, no removing your belt, your shoes, emptying your pockets or dismantling your computer just to board. No the only thing official is the welcome from a cheerful steward who shows you to your cabin, stows your luggage, and adjusts the air conditioning before asking what time you prefer your early morning cuppa.
If this attention to detail seems old fashioned, then give me more!
As the cabin door gently closes, this is it – your time and your space to sit and dream and watch as tiny city courtyards morph into suburban back yards, then larger plots, farm land, native bush, sometimes vineyards. Maybe, like me, you’re a sky watcher. If so, you’re definitely in for a thrill, as the train clicks its way across some of the flattest land in Australia – indeed the world, when you consider the track across the Nullabor is the longest straight stretch in the world.
So what exactly do you do on the Indian Pacific? In a word – relax! At first the personal space and free time may prove so disconcerting you will need an hour or two to slow down. But soon your body clock will adjust, aided by the gently way of the train carriages. Then maybe you’ll read, take photos, view the changing landscape, sit and think – or just sit. Perhaps an afternoon nap is on your agenda – and after sampling the menu and wines on offer in the dining car, that’s precisely what many do!
The dining car also the centre of conviviality in the evening, and the emphasis on the finest local ingredients and wines means a continually changing and exciting menu.
Those keen to absorb as much history and environmental info as possible, will enjoy the daily broadcast describing towns on route, as well as infomation on flora and fauna. On Track is a daily newsletter which is also full of background information on places of interest, and handy for guidance when to change your watch. The journey includes so many time zones that it’s best to default to ‘train time” until Perth is reached. After 24 hours I was so relaxed, time became irrelevant and my watch was relegated to the bottom of my bag.
Be careful of relaxing too much, however, or you’ll retreat to your cabin and never venture out. This would be a huge error as the stops between Sydney and Perth are a wonderful sample of how diverse this vast continent can be. The landscape also offers a sense of the mystery and peace which must have prevailed before British settlement imposed its rules and requirements upon Terra Australis.
Kaye Fallick travelled as a guest of Great Southern Railways.
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