The elapsed time is a lifetime plus 9 and a half hours. Never succumb to nostalgia! While it is still possible to take a train from Canberra to Goulburn, and change to the Sydney-Melbourne XPT, the more efficient way is to take a bus to Yass Junction or Cootamundra and then join the XPT to Melbourne. Nostalgia persuaded me to relive the experience. At that time, there was a separate carriage at the back of the Southern Aurora that was decoupled in Goulburn and then towed down to Canberra, a journey of some 13 hours. Staff are for the most part OK, but occasionally I see a grumpy or rude one, but they're in the minority.Īs a student in the 60s, I frequently travelled from Melbourne to the ANU by train - the type of travel provided by my scholarship award. I enjoy watching the scenery as the train clips along - where tracks permit - at 120 to 160 kilometres per hour. There's also a range of items like beer, wine, flavoured milk, coffee and tea, sausage rolls, salads, chocolate bars, an ice cream and oddest of all, Devonshire teas with fresh scones. The buffet car on board the XPTs has light meals - they aren't huge, but they're also (at A$9.50) a lot cheaper than a low cost airline such as OneStar, Cebu Pacific, Scott or AirAsiaX charges. The trains date in the case of the XPT from about 1983 or a bit later, so there's no WiFi or power points/ USB ports, but there's new trains on order thanks to the NSw Liberal/Nationals Government so hopefully when these start running they'll have these 21st century requirements. I love having a window seat on the XPT as there's a comfortable ledge on which to rest my left hand elbow.

There's a large number of road coach connections throughout the rail network, such as at Cootamundra, Yass Junction, Dubbo, Grafton City and Casino, so one can connect to the trains from numerous off-rail NSW country destinations. The Melbourne to Sydney trains and return are often booked out, especially when NSW TrainLink only runs a five car train set rather than six, but at times it does the latter which means a further 68 economy seats. I can't suggest this happens every day, but on every occasion that I've travelled with NSW TrainLink but one, the train has been on time or less than 15 minutes late arriving: the exception was 40 late due to problems with a freight train at Wagga Wagga. They're very comfortable - far more so than a cramped airline 'slimline' seat, and the leg room is extremly good (again, unlike the airlines' standard offering.

I don't know where TA reviewer mirandaprorsus gets the idea that the first class seats in NSW TrainLink's XPTs trains lack padding or leg room.

Train timetable casino to grafton