Route (white)

Indian Pacific
East Perth Midland Northam Merredin Southern Cross Kalgoorlie Rawlinna Loongana Western Australia / South Australia border Cook Tarcoola Kingoonya Pimba Port Augusta Port Pirie Adelaide Keswick Rail Terminal Gladstone Peterborough South Australia / New South Wales border Broken Hill Menindee Ivanhoe Euabalong West Condobolin Parkes Orange Bathurst Lithgow Penrith Sydney Central

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. East Perth railway station is a Transperth railway station 19km from Perth Train Station, on the Midland Line in Perth, Western Australia Midland Train Station is a Transperth train station 16km from Perth Train Station, in Western Australia, and is the terminus of the current suburban Northam is a town in Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers about north-east of Perth in the Avon Merredin is a town in Western Australia, located in the Central Wheatbelt roughly mid-way between Perth and Kalgoorlie, on Route 94 Southern Cross is a town in Western Australia, 371 kilometres east of Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. Rawlinna is a remote locality and railway siding on the Trans-Australian Railway in Western Australia. Loongana is a remote siding on the transcontinental railway line in the Australian state of Western Australia. Cook ( is a Railway station and crossing loop on the Standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway from Adelaide to Perth, with no inhabited Tarcoola ( is a station on the Trans-Australian Railway. It serves the former mining town of Tarcoola in South Australia. Kingoonya is a small settlement in the far north of the Australian state of South Australia. Pimba is a small settlement lying on the transcontinental railway line in the Australian state of South Australia. Port Augusta (post code 5700 ( is the fifth most populous City in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and Port Pirie (post code 5540 ( is the sixth most populous City in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Murray Gladstone ( is a small rural town in the Mid North of South Australia in the approach to the lower Flinders Ranges. Peterborough ( is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in Wheat country just off the Barrier Highway. For the Local Government Area of Broken Hill see City of Broken Hill Broken Hill is an isolated Mining city and Local Government Area Menindee is a small town in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, in Central Darling Shire, on the banks of the Darling River, with a sign-posted Ivanhoe is small township on the Cobb Highway between the Lachlan and Darling rivers in New South Wales, Australia. Euabalong West is a small town on the Broken Hill Railway Line that was founded to serve the residents of nearby Euabalong, which was a crossing point for the Condobolin is a town of 3500 in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. Parkes is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It has a population of approximately 11700 ( As of 2006) Orange is a provincial city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Mitchell Highway, west of Sydney at an altitude of. Bathurst Railway Station is a regional railway station on Main Western Line. Lithgow railway station is a regional railway station on the Blue Mountains Line of the CityRail intercity network serving the town of Lithgow in Penrith railway station is a railway station on the CityRail network in New South Wales, Australia. Central Railway Station (also known as Sydney Terminal) is the largest Railway station in Sydney. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Great Southern Railway (GSR owned by Serco Asia Pacific is a tourism business and rail transport operator in Australia. A locomotive is a railway Vehicle that provides the motive power for a Train. Pacific National is one of Australia 's largest private rail freight businesses The NR class are an Australian diesel electric locomotives introduced by National Rail in 1996 The train first ran in 1970 after the entire 4352 kilometres route between Sydney and Perth was converted to standard gauge. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail 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. ^[1].

Route

The Indian Pacific heads through suburban Perth, 2005.

NR26 shunts the Indian Pacific at Sydney Terminal, 12 January 2008. Central Railway Station (also known as Sydney Terminal) is the largest Railway station in Sydney. Events 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

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. East Perth railway station is a Transperth railway station 19km from Perth Train Station, on the Midland Line in Perth, Western Australia History The line was a part of the first suburban railway line in Perth opening on March 1 1881 The Trans-Australian Railway is a railway line that crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Port Augusta (post code 5700 ( is the fifth most populous City in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and

The train continues south to Port Pirie, then inland to Crystal Brook, and south to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Port Pirie (post code 5540 ( is the sixth most populous City in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Murray Crystal Brook is a town in South Australia, named for the stream that passes through the town Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country It returns along the same track to Crystal Brook, then turns east again towards Broken Hill. For the Local Government Area of Broken Hill see City of Broken Hill Broken Hill is an isolated Mining city and Local Government Area

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. Parkes is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It has a population of approximately 11700 ( As of 2006) The Western Line is part of the CityRail metropolitan rail network in Sydney. Central Railway Station (also known as Sydney Terminal) is the largest Railway station in Sydney.

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. Parkes is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It has a population of approximately 11700 ( As of 2006) Stockinbingal is a village in Cootamundra Shire in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Southern Highlands Line is a section of the Main South railway line, and part of the CityRail outer suburban network The Blue Mountains Line is a section of the Main Western railway line in New South Wales, Australia.

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. A roomette is a type of Sleeping car compartment in a Railroad Passenger train. A twinette is a sleeping-berth compartment for two persons in a train A restaurant is a retail establishment that serves prepared Food to Customers. Drinks are available for purchase in the lounge car^[2].

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. __FORCETOC__ Economy class, (also called coach class, is the lowest class of seating in Air travel and rail travel It also has its own restaurant car. ^[3].

The train also has a facility which carries passengers' motor vehicles, branded as a "motorail". ^[4].

Christmas train

The Indian Pacific at Cook, South Australia

In recent years, the Indian Pacific has operated a Christmas Train with a notable music personality on board. Cook ( is a Railway station and crossing loop on the Standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway from Adelaide to Perth, with no inhabited ^[5]

The train stops at several locations to entertain the locals and thank them for their support of the train^[6]. The locations include the remote Nullarbor sidings of Watson, Cook,^[7] and Rawlinna. The Trans-Australian Railway is a railway line that crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Cook ( is a Railway station and crossing loop on the Standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway from Adelaide to Perth, with no inhabited Rawlinna is a remote locality and railway siding on the Trans-Australian Railway in Western Australia.

Some of the performers on board have been: David Campbell (2007)^[8], Human Nature (2006), Guy Sebastian (2005), Jimmy Barnes (2004), John Paul Young (2003), Marcia Hines (2002), John Williamson (2001) and Nikki Webster (2000). David Campbell (born 6 August 1973 in South Australia) is an Australian singer and stage performer Human Nature is an Australian pop Vocal group. The group was originally formed as a Doo-wop band in 1989 while the current members were at school together Guy Theodore Sebastian (born October 26, 1981) is an Australian, Singer-songwriter and winner of the first Australian Idol Jimmy Barnes is a popular Australian rock singer He was born James Dixon Swan on April 28, 1956 in Glasgow, Scotland John Paul Young (born June 21, 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland) is an Australian Singer best known for his 1978 worldwide hit Marcia Elaine Hines (born 20 July 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA is a Vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved John Robert Williamson AM (born 1 November 1945 in Quambatook, Victoria) is an Australian Country music Nikki Webster (born April 30, 1987) is an Australian pop performer

Incidents

• On 24 December 1975 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. Events 563 - The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by Earthquakes Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A bogie (ˈboʊgi (BŌ-gē is a Wheeled wagon or trolley In mechanics terms a bogie is a Chassis or framework carrying wheels attached to a vehicle Three of the 200 passengers were injured, and they were flown from Forrest to Adelaide. Forrest is a tiny settlement and Railway station on the Trans-Australian Railway in Western Australia. Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a
• On 18 August 1999^[9] the westbound train was accidentally directed into a crossing loop occupied by an eastbound train at Zanthus. Events 293 BC - The oldest known Roman temple to Venus is founded starting the institution of Vinalia Rustica. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) A passing loop (or "crossing loop" is a place on a single line railway/tramway where trains/trams in opposing directions can pass each other Zanthus is a remote outpost on the Trans-Australian rail line approximately east of the regional city of Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields-Esperance region Further information: Zanthus train collision. The Zanthus train collision occurred at a Crossing loop on the Trans-Australian Railway between Perth to Sydney on 18 August 1999
• On 3 December 1999^[10] a CityRail interurban train ran into the back of the eastbound train at Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Events 1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) For the Beijing subway line known as the CityRail Line see Line 13 Beijing Subway CityRail is an operating division of RailCorp Glenbrook is a Suburb of the Lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. Seven people died, all on the CityRail train.

Further information: Glenbrook train disaster.

References

External links

• Great Southern Railway
• Trans Australian/Indian Pacific railway ephemera—collected and digitised by the National Library of Australia