Trains from Sydney

from SYDNEY
to ADELAIDE
Great Southern Railway (GSR) run the Indian Pacific train twice each week from Sydney to Perth via Adelaide. This train departs Sydney Central station mid afternoon on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and travels for 24 hours before arriving mid afternoon the following day at Adelaide's Keswick rail terminal. The train later continues on to Perth.	The Indian Pacific
You can also travel from Sydney to Adelaide via Melbourne four days per week. This route requires a change of trains in Melbourne, but it can be less expensive than the direct route. Countrylink's "Melbourne XPT" train runs twice each day from Sydney Central station to Melbourne's Spencer Street station. The journey takes about ten and a half hours. There is a day train that departs Sydney in the morning and arrives Melbourne in the evening, and there is a night train that departs Sydney in the evening and arrives in Melbourne early the following morning. Four nights per week, you can then catch The Overland from Melbourne to Adelaide. Run by Great Southern Railway (GSR), this train dpearts Melbourne's Spencer Street station late in the evening - making a convenient connection from the daylight XPT from Sydney, runs overnight and arrives early the following morning at Adelaide's Keswick rail terminal. The whole journey from Sydney to Adelaide via Melbourne takes just a little over 24 hours if you catch the day train from Sydney, or 36 hours if you travel overnight from Sydney then spend the day in Melbourne.	Melbourne XPT
	The Overland
to ALBURY
Countrylink's "Melbourne XPT" train runs twice each day from Sydney Central station to Albury (then on to Melbourne). The journey to Albury takes a little over seven hours. There is a day train that departs Sydney in the morning and arrives Albury in the mid afternoon, and there is a night train that departs Sydney in the evening and arrives in Albury very early the following morning. You can also board these trains at Strathfield or Campbelltown station in Sydney's suburbs, or at one of many other stations along the way.	Melbourne XPT
to ARMIDALE
Countrylink's "Northern Tablelands Xplorer" train runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Armidale. The journey takes a little over eight hours. The train departs Sydney in the mid morning and arrives in Armidale that evening. You can also board the train at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way. Note that this train splits into two along the way at Werris Creek, the other half takes a more westerly route up to Moree - so make sure you stay in the right part of the train!	Northern Tablelands Xplorer
to BATHURST
Countrylink's "Dubbo XPT" train runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Bathurst (then on to Dubbo). The journey to Bathurst takes about three and a half hours. The train departs Sydney early in the morning and arrives Bathurst in the mid morning. You can also board this train at Strathfield, Parramatta, Blacktown or Penrith station in Sydney's suburbs. On Monday mornings Countrylink also run an extra train - the "Broken Hill Outback Xplorer" which departs Sydney about an hour earlier than the Dubbo XPT. You can also board this train at Strathfield, Parramatta or Penrith station.	Dubbo XPT
Countrylink also offer a bus service to Bathurst connecting at Lithgow with Cityrail electric intercity trains from Sydney. Electric trains depart Sydney Central station for Lithgow, and between two and six times daily (depending on the day of the week), Countrylink buses destined for Parkes, Orange, Grenfell or Nyngan connect at Lithgow and stop at Bathurst on the way. The Sydney to Bathurst journey takes about four hours - the bus trip is only one hour long.	Lithgow train
	Countrylink road bus
to BRISBANE
Countrylink's "Brisbane XPT" train runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Brisbane's Roma Street station. The train departs Sydney in the afternoon, travels overnight then arrives in Brisbane early the following morning. The journey takes about fourteen hours. You can also board this train at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way.	Brisbane XPT
You can also travel to Brisbane in daylight by catching Countrylink's "Casino XPT" train from Sydney Central station to Casino, then changing to a connecting bus, also operated by Countrylink. The bus takes you from Casino via the Gold Coast to Brisbane Roma Street station. The whole journey takes fifteen and a half hours - of which only the final three hours are on the bus. The train departs Sydney Central station every day in the early morning, and the connecting bus arrives at Brisbane's Roma Street station late that same evening. You can also board the train at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way.	Casino XPT
	Countrylink road bus
to BROKEN HILL
Great Southern Railway (GSR) run the Indian Pacific train twice each week from Sydney to Perth via Broken Hill. This train departs Sydney Central station mid afternoon on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and travels overnight for sixteen hours before arriving early morning the following day at Broken Hill. The train then continues on to Adelaide and Perth.	The Indian Pacific
Once each week, on Monday mornings, Countrylink run a train called the "Broken Hill Outback Xplorer". This train departs Sydney Central station early in the morning and travels through the day before arriving in Broken Hill that evening after a thirteen and a half hour long journey. You can also board this train in Sydney's suburbs at Strathfield, Parramatta or Penrith station.	Broken Hill Outback Xplorer
You can travel to Broken Hill from Sydney every day of the week by catching Countrylink's "Dubbo XPT" train from Sydney to Dubbo, then changing to a connecting Countrylink bus for the journey to Broken Hill. The Dubbo XPT departs Sydney Central station early every morning and arrives in Dubbo early in the afternoon, then after a short break, the bus travels through the afternoon arriving in Broken Hill late that evening. The whole journey from Sydney takes about sixteen hours.	Dubbo XPT
	Countrylink road bus
to CAIRNS
Countrylink's "Brisbane XPT" train runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Brisbane's Roma Street station. The train departs Sydney in the afternoon, travels overnight then arrives in Brisbane early the following morning. The journey takes about fourteen hours. You can also board this train at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way. Once you are in Brisbane, you then change to one of Queensland Railways (QR) trains up the coast to Cairns. After spending the day in Brisbane, you can board the Cairns Tilt Train which departs Brisbane's Roma Street Station three evening per week and travels overnight and through the next day before arriving in Cairns the following evening. This is arguably Australia's most modern and technologically advanced passenger train, note however that it does not provide sleeping accommodation. The whole journey from Sydney to Cairns takes a little more than two days including a twelve hour stopover in Brisbane en-route.	Brisbane XPT
	Cairns Tilt Train
Countrylink's "Brisbane XPT" train runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Brisbane's Roma Street station. The train departs Sydney in the afternoon, travels overnight then arrives in Brisbane early the following morning. The journey takes about fourteen hours. You can also board this train at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way. Once you are in Brisbane, you then change to one of Queensland Railways (QR) trains up the coast to Cairns. The Sunlander departs Brisbane's Roma Street Station two mornings per week, and makes a convenient connection from the XPT from Sydney. It travels northwards through the day, overnight and through the following day before arriving at Cairns station late the following afternoon. The whole journey from Sydney to Cairns takes a little less than two days if you choose not to break your journey along the way.	Brisbane XPT
	The Sunlander
to CANBERRA
Countrylink's "Canberra Xplorer" train runs twice each day from Sydney Central station to Canberra station. The journey takes just over four hours. On certain days there is a train that departs Sydney in the early morning and arrives in Canberra before midday, some days there is another train that departs Sydney around midday and arrives in Canberra mid afternoon, and on some days there is a train that departs in the evening and arrives in Canberra late in the evening. You can also board these trains at Strathfield or Campbelltown station in Sydney's suburbs, or at one of a few other stations along the way.	Canberra Xplorer
to COFFS HARBOUR
Countrylink run three XPT trains every day from Sydney Central station to Coffs Harbour. The Casino XPT departs Sydney early each morning, and arrives Coffs Harbour mid afternoon. The Grafton XPT departs Sydney just before noon and arrives Coffs Harbour in the evening, and the Brisbane XPT departs Sydney in the late afternoon and arrives in Coffs Harbour just after midnight. The journey on each of these trains takes eight and a half to nine hours. You can also board any of these trains at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way.	XPT train
to DARWIN
Great Southern Railway (GSR) run the Indian Pacific train twice each week from Sydney to Adelaide. This train departs Sydney Central station mid afternoon on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and travels for 24 hours before arriving mid afternoon the following day at Adelaide's Keswick rail terminal. In Adelaide, you leave the Indian Pacific behind and change trains into The Ghan for the journey northward through the heart of Australia to Darwin. The Ghan leaves Adelaide for Darwin once each week on Sunday evening, travels overnight to Alice Springs where it arrives around midday the next day. You have four hours in Alice Springs before the train heads north again overnight to Katherine where another 3-4 hour stop is scheduled for the following morning. Finally, The Ghan departs Katherine around noon and heads to Darwin arriving there in the afternoon of each Tuesday.	The Indian Pacific
	The Ghan
to DUBBO
Countrylink's "Dubbo XPT" train runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Dubbo. The journey to Dubbo takes about six and a half hours. The train departs Sydney early in the morning and arrives Dubbo in the early afternoon. You can also board this train at Strathfield, Parramatta, Blacktown or Penrith station in Sydney's suburbs.	Dubbo XPT
to GOLD COAST (Surfers Paradise)
Countrylink's "Casino XPT" train departs Sydney Central station early each morning and runs through the day before arriving casino in the evening. At Casino you change to a connecting Countrylink bus that runs to Brisbane via the Gold Coast (including Surfers Paradise). The whole journey from Sydney takes about fifteen hours - of which only the final two and a half hours is on the bus. You can also board the train at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way.	Casino XPT
	Countrylink road bus
You can also travel from Sydney to the Gold Coast via Brisbane by catching Countrylink's "Brisbane XPT" train which runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Brisbane's Roma Street station. The train departs Sydney in the afternoon, travels overnight then arrives in Brisbane early the following morning. From Brisbane's Roma Street station you can then catch a QR citytrain to Nerang station (there are two trains every hour) from where connecting QR buses will tkae you the short distance to Surfers Paradise. This whole journey takes about sixteen hours.	Brisbane XPT
	Robina train
	QR road bus
to HOBART
Countrylink's "Melbourne XPT" train runs twice each day from Sydney Central station to Melbourne's Spencer Street station. There is a day train that departs Sydney in the morning and arrives Melbourne in the evening, and there is a night train that departs Sydney in the evening and arrives in Melbourne early the following morning. You can also board these trains at Strathfield or Campbelltown station in Sydney's suburbs, or at one of many other stations along the way. When you arrive at Spencer Street station in Melbourne, catch a number 109 tram from Collins Street for the 15 minute trip to Port Melbourne Beacon Cove. Then board the Spirit of Tasmania ferry (just a short walk from the tram terminus) for the ten hour journey across Bass Strait to Devonport. The Spirit of Tasmania departs every evening and travels overnight arriving in Devonport the following morning. At peak times, daytime trips also operate that depart mid morning and arrive in Devonport late in the afternoon. From Devonport, catch the connecting Tigerline bus for the four hour journey to Hobart. All these services operate daily. If you depart Sydney on the overnight train, you will have a day to spend in Melbourne on the way, then spend your second night on the Spirit of Tasmania. The travel time from Sydney to Hobart is a little over two days.	Melbourne XPT
	Port Melbourne tram (109)
	Spirit of Tasmania ferry
	Tigerline road bus
You can also catch TT-Line 's Spirit of Tasmania direct from Sydney to Devonport. The ferry departs two or three days per week (depending on the time of year) in the mid afternoon from Sydney's Darling Harbour, then sails down the East coast and across Bass Strait before arriving in Devonport late the following morning. You can then transfer to the connecting Tigerline bus for the 4 hour journey journey to Hobart. The total journey takes about 29 hours with one night on board ship.	Spirit of Tasmania ferry
	Tigerline road bus
to KATOOMBA (for the Blue Mountains)
Cityrail operate frequent electric inter-city trains from Sydney Central station to the Blue Mountains. To get to Katoomba, you can catch any Cityrail train destined for Katoomba, Mount Victoria or Lithgow. These trains normally pick up passengers at Strathfield, Parramatta, Penrith and other stations along the way. This very scenic journey will take about two hours, and is an ideal day-trip from Sydney.	Lithgow train
to MAITLAND (for the Hunter Valley)
Cityrail operate frequent electric inter-city trains from Sydney Central station to Newcastle. This journey includes the very pleasant trip over the Hawkesbury River and along Mullet Creek that can only be made by rail. Get off the train at Hamilton station, and board a local train headed for Telarah, Dungog, Scone or Muswellbrook then get off at Maitland station. The whole journey should take a little over three hours.	Newcastle train
	Telarah train
Countrylink run three XPT trains and one Xplorer train every day from Sydney Central station to Maitland. The Murwillumbah XPT departs Sydney very early each morning, and arrives Mailtland mid morning. The Armidale and Moree Xplorer departs Sydney mid morning and arrives Maiitland just after noon. The Grafton XPT departs Sydney just before noon and arrives Maitland in the early afternoon, and the Brisbane XPT departs Sydney in the late afternoon and arrives in Maitland in the early evening. The journey on each of these trains takes about two and three-quarter hours. You can also board any of these trains at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way.	XPT
to MELBOURNE
Countrylink's "Melbourne XPT" train runs twice each day from Sydney Central station to Melbourne's Spencer Street station. The journey takes about ten and a half hours. There is a day train that departs Sydney in the morning and arrives Melbourne in the evening, and there is a night train that departs Sydney in the evening and arrives in Melbourne early the following morning. You can also board these trains at Strathfield or Campbelltown station in Sydney's suburbs, or at one of many other stations along the way.	Melbourne XPT
to MOREE
Countrylink's "Northern Tablelands Xplorer" train runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Moree. The journey takes about nine hours. The train departs Sydney mid morning and arrives in Moree late in the evening. You can also board the train at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way. Note that this train splits into two along the way at Werris Creek, the other half takes a more easterly route up to Tamworth and Armidale - so make sure you stay in the right part of the train!	Northern Tablelands Xplorer
to NEWCASTLE
Cityrail operate frequent electric inter-city trains from Sydney Central station to Newcastle. This journey includes the very pleasant trip over the Hawkesbury River and along Mullet Creek that can only be made by rail. The journey to Newcastle will take about two and three-quarter hours, and is an ideal day-trip from Sydney.	Newcastle train
to PERTH
Great Southern Railway (GSR) run the Indian Pacific train twice each week from Sydney to Perth via Adelaide. This train departs Sydney Central station mid afternoon on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and arrives early morning three days later at East Perth rail terminal. The train stops in Adelaide for three and a half hours and at other locations for shorter periods en-route.	The Indian Pacific
to TAMWORTH
Countrylink's "Northern Tablelands Xplorer" train runs once each day from Sydney Central station to Tamworth. The journey takes a little over six hours. The train departs Sydney mid morning and arrives in Tamworth late in the afternoon before continuing on to Armidale. You can also board the train at Strathfield or Hornsby station in Sydney's suburbs, at Broadmeadow in Newcastle or at one of many other stations along the way. Note that this train splits into two along the way at Werris Creek, the other half takes a more westerly route up to Moree - so make sure you stay in the right part of the train!	Northern Tablelands Xplorer
to WAGGA WAGGA
Countrylink's "Melbourne XPT" train runs twice each day from Sydney Central station to Wagga Wagga (then on to Melbourne). The journey to Wagga Wagga takes six hours. There is a day train that departs Sydney in the morning and arrives Wagga Wagga in the early afternoon, and there is a night train that departs Sydney in the evening and arrives in Wagga Wagga in the middle of the night. You can also board these trains at Strathfield or Campbelltown station in Sydney's suburbs, or at one of many other stations along the way.	Melbourne XPT
to WOLLONGONG
Cityrail operate frequent electric inter-city trains from Sydney Central station to Wollongong. Most trains are destined for Port Kembla or Kiama and stop at Wollongong en-route. The journey includes the spectacular section along the Illawarra escarpment where the railway travels high above the Pacific Ocean. The journey to Wollongong will take about one and a half hours, and is an ideal day-trip from Sydney.	Cityrail train

Page Updated Sunday 9th May 2004