Great South Pacific Express

The Great South Pacific Express was a luxury train service, run in a joint venture by Queensland Rail and the Venice Simplon Orient Express, that ran between Kuranda (near Cairns) and Sydney in Australia from 1998 until 2003. The train accommodated 100 passengers in up to 21 carriages, at a cost from approximately $3500 to $5500 depending on type of accommodation. [cite web
url=http://www.irtsociety.com/greatspe2003.html
title=Welcome to The International Railway Traveler (IRT)
publisher=www.irtsociety.com
accessdate=2008-06-24] The train also made occasional excursions to Canberra, the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley.

The service ended in June 2003 when losses of around $12 million over four years forced QR to stop the service.cite web
url=http://www.travelweekly.com.au/articles/9D/0C036C9D.asp
title=QR sells Great South Pacific Express
date=20/09/2005
publisher=www.travelweekly.com.au
accessdate=2008-06-24] The carriages themselves were owned and built by Queensland Rail at a cost of $35 million, and after the demise of the service were sold to Orient-Express Hotels for an undisclosed price in 2005, for use on their trains overseas.

References

Further reading

* "Great South Pacific Express" Beckhaus, John Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, June, 1998 pp232-238
* "Great South Pacific Express" Short, Col Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December, 2000 pp 443-455