Sydney-Brisbane XPT - 4:00 AM arrival

[Tony Galiani]

Just watched Kuga's travel video on this train.  Neat video but the schedule puzzles me.  It leaves Sydney in the afternoon and arrives in Brisbane at 4:00 AM the next morning.  Seems like a challenging time to arrive - not much anyone can do at that time of the morning.  It wasn't clear to me whether anyone can sleep in on the train until later - Kuga seems to have gotten off the train right after it arrived.  Does anyone happen to know the logic behind this schedule?

Cheers,

Tony

[katoftw]

It just a schedule that suits both NSW and QLD rail companies.  0400 arrival means it can get in and out of brisbane before peak hour.

 

Its a service that no rail company wants to run.  It is very heavily subsedized by the NSW government.  Its full of ex-convicts and single-mums traveling cheap.

 

[Tony Galiani]

Okay then.  I guess this is one route that won't be on my travel list.

Cheers,
Tony

[Takahama Trainwatcher]

Well, it is an "experience". I used to use the XPT every couple of weeks between Coffs Harbour and Sydney. You get used to enduring the long, slow, meandering journey, the crying children, the arrival in the middle of the night (might have been a 1 am arrival at Coffs, from memory); you even work out how to get a bit of sleep in the seats. 18 years ago, that was $A50 a trip when the fuel for driving was $80-$90.

Those XPT sets maintain a really busy schedule, I believe. Each set goes to a number of destinations in its service cycle.

[Gunzel]

Welcome to interstate public transport Australian style. At least it gets to Brisbane, the corresponding morning service ex Sydney is truncated at Casino and you get turfed out on to a bus. I only travel on the sleeper and it's not so bad aside from the early arrival. Not looking forward to the replacements finally going into service.

 

Another joke in the same vein is the two days a week "Overland" train between Melbourne and Adelaide. The only halfway reasonable interstate service left is the XPT from Sydney to Melbourne (aside from the goat track from the NSW border to Melbourne).