Map AM - Rail map of Western Victoria and Eastern South Australia

V/Line's twice weekly Echuca to Melbourne train awaits departure from Echuca station. (Map reference E4).

This map covers the Eastern part of the State of South Australia, the Western half of Victoria and the far-west of New South Wales. It includes the major cities of Adelaide and Melbourne. The countryside ranges from arid desert in the north, through moderately hilly in central Victoria to temperate rainforest and Australia's most spectacular cliff-lined coastline in the far South.

Long distance trains operating in South Australia are operated by Great Southern Railway (GSR), a private company. Their major trains in this region are the Overland (Melbourne-Adelaide) which runs four times weekly during Daylight hours from Adelaide to Melbourne and overnight in the other direction, "The Ghan" once weekly (Adelaide-Darwin) and once-weekly Adelaide - Alice Springs, and the "Indian Pacific" (Sydney-Adelaide-Perth) which runs twice weekly. GSR's trains are locomotive hauled and offer a full range of on-board services including sleeping berths and a buffet and dining car. These trains are not generally speedy, but they are comfortable and are promoted as 'land-cruises'.

Most long distance trains in Victoria are operated by "V/Line". They operate services on this page from Melbourne to Swan Hill, Ballarat and Ararat, Geelong and Warrnambool, Bendigo and Echuca. V/Line trains are generally modern and fairly speedy. They are either locomotive hauled or modern diesel railcar operated. Services are quite frequent by Australian standards, and the routes cover relatively short distance. It is very easy to make day return trips from Melbourne to all V/Line destinations with the exception of stations north of Bendigo which will generally require an overnight stay.

There is also a tour train called the "Ozback Explorer" which runs 6 times per year. This train starts its journey in Lithgow (NSW) before arriving in Melbourne, then runs to Adelaide and on to Alice Springs.

Regular ferry services are operated to Kangaroo Island from Cape Jervis by Sealink Ferries. The Spirit of Tasmania Ferry operates daily from Melbourne to Devonport in Tasmania, generally running overnight, but occasional trips are in daylight hours.

There are a number of excellent tourist railways in this region. The Pichi-Richi Railway (PRR) operates regular steam and railcar services through scenic hill country on the edge of the outback from Quorn to Stirling North and Peterborough. The Yorke Peninsula Railway operate occasional diesel-hauled trips between Wallaroo, Kadina and Bute. To the South of Adelaide is one of the most impressive tourist railways in the country - SteamRanger operate regular trips along a very scenic stretch of coastal track between Goolwa and Victor Harbor, and they also operate longer trips on some Sundays to and from Strathalbyn and Mount Barker junction. Its a point of debate in Australia, but depending on your definition of a railway, the line around Goolwa lays claim to being Australia's very first railway! Another large scale tourist railway is the Limestone Coast Railway which run regular Sunday day-return railcar trips from Mount Gambier northwards to Penola and the wine growing region of Coonawarra. An interesting horse-tram tourist service is provided between Victor Harbor and Granite Island. This short trip runs very regularly. Across the border in Victoria is the Victorian Goldfields Railway which on Sundays and Wednesdays operates steam trains between the national trust classified town of Maldon and Castlemaine. Finally, an interesting recent addition is the Portland 'Cable' Trams. This is a tourist line in the town of Portland that operates a tourist service using reconstructed Melbourne Cable trams (powered by diesel motors).

A printer-friendly version of this map in pdf format can be downloaded by clicking here.