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Indian Pacific

Journey Overview Facts and Figures Timetable - April 2007 to March 2008

Indian Pacific - Journey Overview

The history of the Indian Pacific can be traced back to the early 1900’s.  The colonies of Australia were headed towards federation at the end of the 19th Century.  The colony of Western Australia was lured to join this new nation by promise of a transcontinental railway, linking this isolated western region with the rest of the eastern colonies.

A skeleton rail link extended from the east to the west coasts of Australia except for a 1,996 km gap in the system between Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and Port Augusta in South Australia.  On 17 October, 1917 in a remarkable surveying and engineering feat, two construction teams, one starting from Port Augusta and the other from Kalgoorlie, made an historic achievement, meeting to join the lines at what is now the tiny South Australian siding of Ooldea on the Nullarbor Plain.  This was the longest railway ever built as a single project in Australia, taking five years to complete.  It was constructed using the most basic tools – pick and shovel, carthorse and camel.

At 10.15am on 25 October, 1917, the first eastbound passenger train, the Transcontinental Express, departed Kalgoorlie for Port Augusta.  The different rail gauges required guests to change trains several times along the journey.  A standard trip from Sydney to Perth comprised: Sydney to Albury on a standard gauge track, change trains at Albury to travel to Melbourne on broad gauge; continue onto Adelaide on broad gauge through to Terowie, change trains for the short journey to Port Augusta via Peterborough and then on to Kalgoorlie on standard gauge; change trains in Kalgoorlie for the narrow gauge journey into Perth.

It was not until 1969 that an uninterrupted rail line from the Pacific Ocean in the east to  the Indian Ocean in the west existed when the standard gauge railway line across Australia was completed.  The first unbroken journey of the Indian Pacific commenced at Sydney Central Station on Monday 23 February, 1970, arriving in Perth to a crowd of over 10,000 on 27 February.

It is this rich history that has made the Indian Pacific one of Australia’s most treasured icons.  The diversity of the Australian landscape that can be viewed on this remarkable 4,352 kilometre transcontinental journey and the wonderful hospitality afforded to guests aboard the train makes the Indian Pacific one of the world’s greatest train journeys. 

Indian Pacific - Facts and Figures

The Journey
Sydney to Perth via Adelaide – three nights one way

Service
Twice weekly return service in both directions

Length of Journey
Sydney to Perth – 65 hours / 4,352km one way

Average speed of train
85km / hour (maximum speed 115km / hour)

Symbol
The symbol of the Indian Pacific is the Wedge-tail eagle, Australia’s largest eagle.  Its massive two metre wingspan symbolizes the epic journey of the Indian Pacific, the adventure that spans a continent.