Indian Pacific

The Indian Pacific is a twice-weekly passenger rail service running between Perth and Sydney, Australia operated by Great Southern Railway, with locomotives provided by Pacific National, usually led by an NR class. The train first ran in 1970 after the entire 4352 kilometres route between Sydney and Perth was converted to standard gauge.

The journey takes 65 hours, passes through three states, and travels along one of the world's longest straight stretches of railway track when it crosses the Nullarbor Plain. [cite news | first=Peter | last=Vincent | coauthors= | title=Railroaded Into Fun | date=2006-09-27 | publisher= | url =http://www.theage.com.au/news/peter-vincent/railroaded-into-fun/2006/09/25/1159036475813.html?page=2 | work =The Age | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-25 | language = ] .

Route

The route leaves East Perth Station and travels first along a dual gauge section of the Midland suburban line and east to Kalgoorlie, then following the Trans-Australian Railway to Port Augusta.

The train continues south to Port Pirie, then inland to Crystal Brook, and south to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It returns along the same track to Crystal Brook, then turns east again towards Broken Hill.

From Broken Hill, the train continues across New South Wales to Parkes, then climbs over the Blue Mountains, runs along the Western suburban line and into Sydney terminating at Central station.

Occasionally due to trackwork or other reasons the Indian Pacific is diverted via the cross-country line from Parkes to Stockinbingal, arriving into Sydney via the Southern Highlands line instead of via the Blue Mountains line.

Passenger facilities

The train has two classes, being Gold Service and Red Service. The former, a first-class service, features either roomette or twinette sleeper cabins, with complimentary meals in the restaurant car. Drinks are available for purchase in the lounge car [cite news | first=Mark | last=Chipperfield | coauthors= | title=Australia: Across a Continent on the No Worries Express | date=2005-01-18 | publisher= | url =http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2005/01/18/etoztrain111204.xml&sSheet=/travel/2005/01/18/ixtrvhome.html | work =The Daily Telegraph | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-25 | language = ] .

Red Kangaroo service, the equivalent of economy class, features either airline-style "sit-up" seats similar to other Australian trains, or dual-berth shared sleeper cabins. It also has its own restaurant car. [cite web | title = Compare Service Levels | publisher = Great Southern Railway | url = http://www.gsr.com.au/our-trains/indian-pacific/compare-service-levels.php | accessdate = 2008-04-18 ] .

The train also has a facility which carries passengers' motor vehicles, branded as a "motorail". [cite web | title = Taking your car | publisher = Great Southern Railway | url = http://www.gsr.com.au/our-trains/indian-pacific/taking-your-car.php | accessdate = 2008-04-18 ] .

Christmas train

In recent years, the Indian Pacific has operated a Christmas Train with a notable music personality on board. [cite news | first=Craig | last=Platt | coauthors= | title=Getting Into the Christmas Spirit(s) | date=2007-12-21 | publisher= | url =http://www.smh.com.au/news/australia/getting-into-the-christmas-spirits/2007/12/20/1197740451875.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 | work =The Sydney Morning Herald | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-25 | language = ]

The train stops at several locations to entertain the locals and thank them for their support of the train [cite news | first=Diana | last=Simmonds | coauthors= 2007-04-19 | title=On the Right Track | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,23483,21583849-5012678,00.html?from=public_rss | work =The Australian | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-25 | language = ] . The locations include the remote Nullarbor sidings of Watson, Cook, [cite news | first=Carol | last=Nader | coauthors= | title=Splendid Isolation | date=2005-12-17 | publisher= | url =http://www.theage.com.au/news/south-australia/splendid-isolation/2005/12/16/1134500967450.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 | work =The Age | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-25 | language = ] and Rawlinna.

Some of the performers on board have been: David Campbell (2007) [ cite web|url=http://www.gsr.com.au/our-trains/indian-pacific/indian-pacific-outback-christmas.php |title=Indian Pacific Outback Christmas |accessdate=2008-01-25 ] , Human Nature (2006), Guy Sebastian (2005), Jimmy Barnes (2004), John Paul Young (2003), Marcia Hines (2002), John Williamson (2001) and Nikki Webster (2000).

Incidents

*On 24 December 1975 - Zanthus train collision: 14 of the 25 carriages on the eastbound train derailed due to a collapsed bogie on the leading carriage, between the remote Nullarbor sidings of Haig and Nurina. Three of the 200 passengers were injured, and they were flown from Forrest to Adelaide.
*On 18 August 1999 [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Chronology of Australian Train Crashes | date=2007-06-06 | publisher= | url =http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21856974-5001021,00.html | work =The Daily Telegraph | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-25 | language = ] the westbound train was accidentally directed into a crossing loop occupied by an eastbound train at Zanthus.
*On 3 December 1999 - Glenbrook train disaster: a CityRail interurban train ran into the back of the eastbound train at Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Seven people died, all on the CityRail train. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Chronology of Australian Train Crashes | date=2007-06-06 | publisher= | url =http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21856974-5001021,00.html | work =The Daily Telegraph | pages = | accessdate = 2008-01-25 | language = ]
*On 15 April 2008 an eastbound train was stranded for more than 12 hours west of Broken Hill during trackwork. [cite web
url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/17/2219857.htm
title=Indian Pacific arrives late in Broken Hill
work=ABC News
date=April 17, 2008
publisher=www.abc.net.au
accessdate=2008-07-24]

References

External links

* [http://www.gsr.com.au/our-trains/indian-pacific/the-journey.php Great Southern Railway]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-vn1072309 Trans Australian/Indian Pacific railway ephemera] —collected and digitised by the National Library of Australia