Australia: Stark warning about "Journey Beyond" train operator

[doc7austin]

Update regarding Journey Beyond (Indian Pacific, Ghan, etc.)
I find this important. JB charges outrageously huge ticket prices.

I wanted to provide an update on my situation. Based on my experience, I must again advise caution when booking with Journey Beyond (JB).

1. In March 2025, Journey Beyond (JB) cancelled my booking due to the derailment of a Southern Shorthaul Rail freight train. I was only notified whilst standing on the station platform.
2. I immediately contacted Journey Beyond to explore options, stating my preference was to be rebooked onto another service. Unfortunately, JB did not reply to my initial emails.
3. Consequently, I escalated the matter to the COO. The response was disappointing and unhelpful; I was criticized for contacting the freight operator directly to seek information.
4. Over the following months, roughly 30 emails were exchanged between myself and the COO.
5. After 4.5 months of fruitless negotiation, I asked my card issuer to pursue a chargeback.
6. Regrettably, the bank denied the request as I had missed the 120-day deadline from the date of cancellation. This was an oversight on my part, as I had assumed the window was at least a year.
7. I then returned to JB to demand a straightforward refund. I faced significant bureaucratic hurdles; at one stage, it was implied that refunds were only for Australian residents. The COO requested a copy of my driving licence, but when I provided my non-Australian one, I was told only an Australian licence would suffice.
   
   
8. UPDATE: After further difficult correspondence—and escalating the matter to JB’s owners, Crestview Partners—the COO finally relented and agreed to issue a refund.
9. However, JB refused to refund the original credit card and insisted on a wire transfer. Consequently, I have lost approximately 10% of the fare value due to transfer fees and exchange rates.
   
   

 

[doc7austin]

Analysis of Journey Beyond’s reliability and refund policies

Journey Beyond (JB) charges premium fares for what is marketed as a world-class luxury experience. At these price points, one naturally expects a high degree of reliability and contingency planning.

However, the infrastructure presents a significant risk. The Trans-Australian Railway is largely a single-track line heavily used by freight. Derailments and closures are, unfortunately, not uncommon. While JB cannot control freight derailments, I believe they should be far more transparent about the frequency of these closures given the cost of the tickets.

My primary concern is JB's commercial response to these disruptions: When the line is blocked, JB’s default policy is to substitute the rail journey with coaches, commercial flights, and hotels. While this ensures passengers reach their destination, JB appears unwilling to offer refunds (even partial ones) in these scenarios. The COO has previously indicated to me that if alternative transport is provided, the contract is fulfilled.

I find this unacceptable. Paying £5,000 for a luxury "rail cruise" experience is not comparable to being flown between cities and put in a hotel.

A current example of operational disconnect: Yesterday, a freight train derailed near Port Augusta, closing the line between Adelaide and Perth. Consequently, JB cancelled the Sydney-Perth service (scheduled for Jan 7). However, remarkably, JB continued selling tickets for the return Perth-Sydney leg (scheduled for Jan 10). Since the rolling stock (rake) is stuck on the wrong side of the blockage and cannot physically reach Perth (maybe I have overlooked something), it is baffling that they were still taking bookings.

We often complain about UK rail, but given the astronomical prices charged by Journey Beyond, the lack of consumer protection and the logistical gambling is something potential travellers should be aware of.

 

[railfan99]

A current example of operational disconnect: Yesterday, a freight train derailed near Port Augusta, closing the line between Adelaide and Perth. Consequently, JB cancelled the Sydney-Perth service (scheduled for Jan 7). However, remarkably, JB continued selling tickets for the return Perth-Sydney leg (scheduled for Jan 10). Since the rolling stock (rake) is stuck on the wrong side of the blockage and cannot physically reach Perth (maybe I have overlooked something), it is baffling that they were still taking bookings.

We often complain about UK rail, but given the astronomical prices charged by Journey Beyond, the lack of consumer protection and the logistical gambling is something potential travellers should be aware of.

Because the westbound 'Indian Pacific' is cancelled, Journey Beyond operated an 'Experience' train overnight on 8 to 9 January 2026 from Adelaide to Dimboola (which is a freight train crew change station on the line to Melbourne). I lack any further details about this.

You are not alone in your views: one friend who helps others to book says when there are changes, or cancellations, USA-owned (Crestview Partners, a private equity outfit) JB is a 'nightmare' to deal with.

'Indian Pacific' and 'The Ghan' have long ceased to convey backpackers in sitting carriages, and as you imply, sleeping car fares rise every year. I agree they are typically 'astronomical'.

'The Overland' (twice weekly each way as a day train Adelaide-Melbourne and return) is a shadow of what it once was, a very popular government-operated night train.

 

[stadler]

Journey Beyond is utterly extortionate. You can easily fly from the UK to Australia and back for cheaper than the cost of one of their train tickets. In fact you could probably fly from the UK to Australia and back three times and it would still be cheaper. Journey Beyond are rip off merchants. It is a shame as the only other way between Perth and the rest of Australia or between Darwin and the rest of Australia is via a long multi day journey on multiple coaches (Perth - Broome - Darwin - Alice Springs - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney) which is a lot less enjoyable than a more direct train ride. If they charged sensible fares and operated more like a public transport service then they would be a lot more popular.

 

[doc7austin]

Well, I think there are still -unfortunately - too many people out there who buy into Indian Pacific and Ghan experience.

A lot of the passengers are elderly cruise-ship people. Now, yes, ports couldbe skipped on a ship cruise, but you still be able to ride the ship in your paid cabin. With Journey Beyond they put you - with a 5,000 GBP ticket - on a bus, plane, or hotel.

 

[railfan99]

Journey Beyond is utterly extortionate. You can easily fly from the UK to Australia and back for cheaper than the cost of one of their train tickets. In fact you could probably fly from the UK to Australia and back three times and it would still be cheaper. Journey Beyond are rip off merchants. It is a shame as the only other way between Perth and the rest of Australia or between Darwin and the rest of Australia is via a long multi day journey on multiple coaches (Perth - Broome - Darwin - Alice Springs - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney) which is a lot less enjoyable than a more direct train ride. If they charged sensible fares and operated more like a public transport service then they would be a lot more popular.

We could make a similar comment for sleeping cars on 'The Canadian' (although it has sitting cars attached) or the daytime train that's 'The Rocky Mountaineer'.

In relation to your final comment, 'Indian Pacific' is usually booked out, though a second weekly train set is no longer operated during the peak Western Australian wildlower season around September.

 

[RT4038]

Journey Beyond is utterly extortionate. You can easily fly from the UK to Australia and back for cheaper than the cost of one of their train tickets. In fact you could probably fly from the UK to Australia and back three times and it would still be cheaper. Journey Beyond are rip off merchants. It is a shame as the only other way between Perth and the rest of Australia or between Darwin and the rest of Australia is via a long multi day journey on multiple coaches (Perth - Broome - Darwin - Alice Springs - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney) which is a lot less enjoyable than a more direct train ride. If they charged sensible fares and operated more like a public transport service then they would be a lot more popular.

The Australian Government (both Federal and State) have taken the decision not to subsidise public transport trains on these routes. The 'Journey Beyond' trains are a luxury cruise service - which can be used to get from one place to another but that is not really the primary purpose. The State have decided that, by and large, air travel is the public transport service across the huge distances; no doubt the public have been generally voting that way with their bums for the last 70 or so years anyway.

As has been pointed out 'Journey Beyond' trains are pretty much booked out most of the time, even at their extortionate prices. When these trains charged 'sensible fares' for a normal level of service they weren't that popular (or economic), hence why they were discontinued.

 

[Meole]

Maintaining the RoW on these huge distances must be very expensive so high fares seem entirely justified, especially as competitive air fares are readily available.

 

[35B]

The Australian Government (both Federal and State) have taken the decision not to subsidise public transport trains on these routes. The 'Journey Beyond' trains are a luxury cruise service - which can be used to get from one place to another but that is not really the primary purpose. The State have decided that, by and large, air travel is the public transport service across the huge distances; no doubt the public have been generally voting that way with their bums for the last 70 or so years anyway.

As has been pointed out 'Journey Beyond' trains are pretty much booked out most of the time, even at their extortionate prices. When these trains charged 'sensible fares' for a normal level of service they weren't that popular (or economic), hence why they were discontinued.

I would like to do both the Ghan and Indian Pacific, and have joked with my wife about travelling to Sydney, in through Darwin and out through Perth. My reason for travelling will be as an experience, not for ordinary travel.

Knowing how JB handle problems will influence any decision I may make to travel.

 

[RT4038]

I would like to do both the Ghan and Indian Pacific, and have joked with my wife about travelling to Sydney, in through Darwin and out through Perth. My reason for travelling will be as an experience, not for ordinary travel.

Knowing how JB handle problems will influence any decision I may make to travel.

I did the trip from Sydney to Adelaide circa 2004. I had seated class then ('Red Kangaroo').

My Wife and I, plus one other couple were the only passengers in the car, plus an Aboriginal who boarded at a siding on the second evening to ride into Adelaide. I think the trains were run by a company called Great Southern Railways or some such.

We rhen took the Overland to Melbourne, a day train. Quite a good load on that.

 

[jp4712]

I would like to do both the Ghan and Indian Pacific, and have joked with my wife about travelling to Sydney, in through Darwin and out through Perth. My reason for travelling will be as an experience, not for ordinary travel.

Knowing how JB handle problems will influence any decision I may make to travel.

I agree with you and I’m in the same situation. My wife and I are planning to be in Australia in early 2028, I fancy the Indian Pacific (at Platinum class) but the debacle described above is making me doubt whether this is a good idea.

 

[doc7austin]

I would like to do both the Ghan and Indian Pacific, and have joked with my wife about travelling to Sydney, in through Darwin and out through Perth. My reason for travelling will be as an experience, not for ordinary travel.

Well, the chances that you are able to ride both the Ghan and the Indian Pacific trains all the way, are not that high.
Speaking about experience - how does it feel to ride the bus from Sydney to Lithgow or flying Adelaide-Darwin/Perth ? It is exactly what may happen with Journey Beyond Rail - after paying extortionate fares. And "no refunds".

As has been pointed out 'Journey Beyond' trains are pretty much booked out most of the time, even at their extortionate prices. When these trains charged 'sensible fares' for a normal level of service they weren't that popular (or economic), hence why they were discontinued.

Well, I do not believe that these trains are booked out most of the times. As I've pointed out Journey Beyond was still selling tickets for Perth-Sydney (departure tomorrow) 3 days ago.

In addition, it seems to be that in this forum we have a civil conversation about Journey Beyond Rail.
Writing in Australian forums, I am always encountering these reactions:
- "tough luck, you should have bought travel insurance" -> travel insurance is useless and doesn't pay anything, if Journey Beyond transports you to your destination by bus or plane (which they do).
- "you blame Journey Beyond for the weather!" -> if bush fires or buckling railways happens once in a decade, I rest my case. However, these issues happen often and Journey Beyond should be more forthright about that.
- "it's not Journey Beyond's fault that a freight train derailed" -> well, Journey Beyond writes in their own t&c that they are trying to recover any damages to finance partial refunds. So, yes, it matters who caused the train's cancellation.

 

[35B]

Well, the chances that you are able to ride both the Ghan and the Indian Pacific trains all the way, are not that high.
Speaking about experience - how does it feel to ride the bus from Sydney to Lithgow or flying Adelaide-Darwin/Perth ? It is exactly what may happen with Journey Beyond Rail - after paying extortionate fares. And "no refunds".


Well, I do not believe that these trains are booked out most of the times. As I've pointed out Journey Beyond was still selling tickets for Perth-Sydney (departure tomorrow) 3 days ago.

In addition, it seems to be that in this forum we have a civil conversation about Journey Beyond Rail.
Writing in Australian forums, I am always encountering these reactions:
- "tough luck, you should have bought travel insurance" -> travel insurance is useless and doesn't pay anything, if Journey Beyond transports you to your destination by bus or plane (which they do).
- "you blame Journey Beyond for the weather!" -> if bush fires or buckling railways happens once in a decade, I rest my case. However, these issues happen often and Journey Beyond should be more forthright about that.
- "it's not Journey Beyond's fault that a freight train derailed" -> well, Journey Beyond writes in their own t&c that they are trying to recover any damages to finance partial refunds. So, yes, it matters who caused the train's cancellation.

Which is why this feedback is useful input for when we next plan a trip to Australia - including a careful check of what my travel insurance would or wouldn't cover me for in the context of the T&Cs. Having made the Alice-Uluru coach journey a couple of times, and flown internally, I'm very conscious of what long distance travel within Australia can be like.

My greater challenge will be persuading my wife to permit either, let alone both, of these internal journeys.

 

[RT4038]

Speaking about experience - how does it feel to ride the bus from Sydney to Lithgow or flying Adelaide-Darwin/Perth ? It is exactly what may happen with Journey Beyond Rail - after paying extortionate fares. And "no refunds".

And this is the crux - these trains are a Cruise experience of several days, not just a means of travel.

Sydney to Lithgow is a short journey to be substituted by road transport and presumably little if any of the cruise 'service' (meals etc) would have been lost. [Annoying for a track basher, but not so serious in the grand scheme of things].

However, substituting the main part of the journey by air travel should be offered with an alternative for a full refund or an equivalence of accommodation and meals for the length the cruise would have been - the choice being that of the customer.

 

[doc7austin]

And this is the crux - these trains are a Cruise experience of several days, not just a means of travel.

Exactly - when Journey Beyond cancels the Adelaide-Perth segment of the Sydney-Perth Indian Pacific - the cruise experience, which you had paid top dollars for, is GONE.

For me I'd take this risk, if Journey Beyond offered a distance-based pro-rata refund. A Adelaide-Perth cancellation would then amount to a cash refund of approx. 66%. But JB doesn't do that. Check their t&c!
Or if Journey Beyond offered a free rebooking to just the Adelaide-Perth segment a couple of weeks later. In my cancellation case, JB ignored 10 emails of me trying to achieve that.

@RT4038 @jp4712 As I understand their t&c, they don't have to refund anything, if the cancellation happened outside of the control of JB.

Which is why this feedback is useful input for when we next plan a trip to Australia - including a careful check of what my travel insurance would or wouldn't cover me for in the context of the T&Cs. Having made the Alice-Uluru coach journey a couple of times, and flown internally, I'm very conscious of what long distance travel within Australia can be like.

I was checking several travel insurance policies. They usually only cover costs for replacement flights and accommodation. But this is exactly what Journey Beyond is covering - they won't abandon the passengers. So the passenger has ultimately no claim against the insurance.
The insurance is not going to issue a refund for a cancelled train - absent of a bankruptcy. I haven't found such a policy, yet.

 

[35B]

Exactly - when Journey Beyond cancels the Adelaide-Perth segment of the Sydney-Perth Indian Pacific - the cruise experience, which you had paid top dollars for, is GONE.

For me I'd take this risk, if Journey Beyond offered a distance-based pro-rata refund. A Adelaide-Perth cancellation would then amount to a cash refund of approx. 66%. But JB doesn't do that. Check their t&c!
Or if Journey Beyond offered a free rebooking to just the Adelaide-Perth segment a couple of weeks later. In my cancellation case, JB ignored 10 emails of me trying to achieve that.

@RT4038 @jp4712 As I understand their t&c, they don't have to refund anything, if the cancellation happened outside of the control of JB.


I was checking several travel insurance policies. They usually only cover costs for replacement flights and accommodation. But this is exactly what Journey Beyond is covering - they won't abandon the passengers. So the passenger has ultimately no claim against the insurance.
The insurance is not going to issue a refund for a cancelled train - absent of a bankruptcy. I haven't found such a policy, yet.

And this is where a risk based view is required.

 

[doc7austin]

And this is where a risk based view is required.

If there is a travel insurance out there, that pays out a pro-rata cash refund by distance for any train cancellation, I stand corrected.

Sydney - Perth takes 3 nights (approx. 75 hours) and costs (e.g.) GBP 5,000 for 2 persons.
I think that budget can be invested into a much more better and more reliable 3-night experience. You can essentially hire a private driver to the best spots.

 

[35B]

If there is a travel insurance out there, that pays out a pro-rata cash refund by distance for any train cancellation, I stand corrected.

Sydney - Perth takes 3 nights (approx. 75 hours) and costs (e.g.) GBP 5,000 for 2 persons.
I think that budget can be invested into a much more better and more reliable 3-night experience. You can essentially hire a private driver to the best spots.

I'm not saying there is - I've not looked. Just that awareness of others' experience allows me to decide how to spend my money and time, and judge the risk of things going wrong.

 

[railfan99]

Well, I do not believe that these trains are booked out most of the times. As I've pointed out Journey Beyond was still selling tickets for Perth-Sydney (departure tomorrow) 3 days ago.

That's fairly unusual, and may reflect cancellations received by Journey Beyond.

As a local, I can assure you 'The Ghan' and 'The Indian Pacific" are usually booked out, sometimes months in advance. If there are any sleeping compartments available, it's usually an extremely low number.

On any mode of travel, there's normally up to five per cent of passengers who on the day don't travel: illness, a death in the family, a wedding clashing that wasn't known about months ago, missed travel connections or even change of mind are some of the reasons.

 

[doc7austin]

JBR is teaming with cruise lines to fill up capacity. Also - apparently - the second weekly IP is not offered anymore.
When checking journeybeyond.com it seems the Platinum classes do not show availability, but Gold cabins are usually sold even at short notice.

Who knows through which channel the Platinum cabins are distributed ? Just because a cabin is not shown to be available on the public website, doesn't mean its sold out.

It think the market for such an overpriced and unreliable service is too small.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

On the day of departure the Journey Beyond staff at the station told us that the train was cancelled due to a freight derailment.

I didn't believe that story.

So I have contacted the ONRSR to report the freight derailment. ONRSR on the phone told me there were not aware of a freight derailment. So they asked who told me about that derailment. I gave them the name of the badge that the Journey Beyond staff was wearing at the station.

I assume ONRSR contacted Journey Beyond and this is what triggered the involvement of the Executive General Manager.

And believe that guy David Donald is angry at me.

Normally, the average passenger of a Journey Beyond tourist train would believe any BS-story that they have been told by staff - but not me !

This is where you dont understand National Rail Safety Law in Australia.

Derailments have two classifications.
Category A and Category B.

Cat A is report immediately.
Cat B is report within 72 hours.

It's different. All train derailments have to reported to the ONRSR. The regulation doesn't specify who is allowed to report this in or who isn't it.
What I did - and I had a lot of time on that day. So I called in. ONRSR was not aware of a freight train derailment. They asked me some more details and who told me that.
That must have triggered ONRSR to contact Journey Beyond. And that's why David Donald got involved.

They do have to report it.
Depending on the category of the occurrence.
ONRSR may not be aware of the incident because its a Category B notifiable occurrence.

You can see the reporting requirements for notifiable occurrence here:

https://nraspricms01.blob.core.windows.net/assets/documents/Guideline/Guideline-Notifiable-Occurrence-Reporting-Requirements-updated-Oct-2022.pdf

An SSR freight train will almost certainly be a Category B notifiable Occurrence.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Jan 2026 ==

Journey Beyond is utterly extortionate. You can easily fly from the UK to Australia and back for cheaper than the cost of one of their train tickets. In fact you could probably fly from the UK to Australia and back three times and it would still be cheaper. Journey Beyond are rip off merchants. It is a shame as the only other way between Perth and the rest of Australia or between Darwin and the rest of Australia is via a long multi day journey on multiple coaches (Perth - Broome - Darwin - Alice Springs - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney) which is a lot less enjoyable than a more direct train ride. If they charged sensible fares and operated more like a public transport service then they would be a lot more popular.

These trains are basically hotels on rails and are a premium experience. They are not public transport.

The only train with any sort of subsidy to keep running is the Overland.
If it didn't exist it would have been killed off ages ago

 

[doc7austin]

According to some social media posts in recent days:
By default passengers on both the IP Sydney-Perth (Jan 7) and IP Perth-Sydney (Jan 10) were flown between Perth and Adelaide. Though, a significant number of passengers opted not to fly, but made their own arrangements.
Then the train - with passengers - made an excursion to Dimboola, Victoria and stayed there overnight.
Apparently, Journey Beyond offered travel vouchers to affected travellers, though, such vouchers are essentially worthless to elderly people from oversea's, as they most likely won't travel on Journey Beyond trains in the future again.

 

[43094]

I've travelled on both the Indian Pacific (September 2023) & Ghan (September 2024) throughout. In both cases in Gold class.

In my case, both trips ran as scheduled, with the exception that one of the advertised off-train excursions on the Ghan was described as 'no longer available' on the day, despite being advertised on their website; on querying this they confirmed it *was* available, but for unstated reasons, not as an option for the specific trip I was on (again, despite being advertised).

Other than that, both trips did 'what it says on the tin'. Yes, both were expensive. Yes, you have to like travelling by rail over long periods of time. Yes, track quality means sleep can be a bit variable. But I was glad to have done both, treated them as an experience in their own right and so enjoyed them, and would recommend either to people in my position, who have sufficient time and who assess the cost as being worth the (advertised) trips and associated off-train excursions.

 

[doc7austin]

One curious question - one of the tours was not available. Could the affected passengers then stayed onbaord the Ghan rake ?

 

[LesS]

These 2 trains can only be described as "cruise trains" and they do not provide any form of "passenger transport".

It is almost normal for the Indian Pacific to transit Sydney as a 36 car train. This presents some interesting shunting movements. Arriving trains take passengers off at Mt Victoria after early breakfast and then runs empty (in theory) to Sydney. Departure from Sydney is in 3 sections which are amalgamated in Clyde goods sidings about 12/13 miles west of Central.

I travelled by the Ghan in 2005 when operated by GSR and it was a good experience. Neither of the current services are of interest to railfans.

JB have more recently purchased a private operator who runs local multi day "cruise" type tours in NSW.

 

[43094]

I'm not sure whether remaining on the train (rather than undertaking an off-train experience) would have been permitted or not, in that instance.

In some of them (e.g disembarking at Marla on the Indian Pacific), remaining on board is definitely permitted.

In others (e.g the dwell at Adelaide on the same train), it isn't.

 

[railfan99]

It is almost normal for the Indian Pacific to transit Sydney as a 36 car train. This presents some interesting shunting movements. Arriving trains take passengers off at Mt Victoria after early breakfast and then runs empty (in theory) to Sydney. Departure from Sydney is in 3 sections which are amalgamated in Clyde goods sidings about 12/13 miles west of Central.

Journey Beyond still gives passengers the option of remaining on 'The Indian Pacific' all the way into Sydney Terminal (aka Central station) but you miss out on lunch. See its 'Day 05' itinerary for Perth to Sydney on its website.

 

[doc7austin]

Journey Beyond still gives passengers the option of remaining on 'The Indian Pacific' all the way into Sydney Terminal (aka Central station) but you miss out on lunch. See its 'Day 05' itinerary for Perth to Sydney on its website.

Actually, there were many instances, where eastbound IP-passenger were compelled to book the Blue Mountains tour, and having to leave the train there - they were not permitted to stay on the train between (possibly) Lithgow and Sydney.
All passengers were then transported between the Blue Mountains and Sydney by bus.

The Indian Pacific 2026 Timetable

www.journeybeyondrail.com.au

According to the timetable the IP arrives in the Blue Mountains (possibly Lithgow?) at 08:05. The train itself is scheduled to arrive in Sydney at 12:30.
With that Journey Beyond is cutting the train journey by 4.5 hours. If I paid GBP 5,000 as a railway enthusiast, I would be pretty pissed off.

 

[35B]

Actually, there were many instances, where eastbound IP-passenger were compelled to book the Blue Mountains tour, and having to leave the train there - they were not permitted to stay on the train between (possibly) Lithgow and Sydney.
All passengers were then transported between the Blue Mountains and Sydney by bus.

The Indian Pacific 2026 Timetable

www.journeybeyondrail.com.au

According to the timetable the IP arrives in the Blue Mountains (possibly Lithgow?) at 08:05. The train itself is scheduled to arrive in Sydney at 12:30.
With that Journey Beyond is cutting the train journey by 4.5 hours. If I paid GBP 5,000 as a railway enthusiast, I would be pretty pissed off.

I looked at the website, and it's quite clear about the choice that's now on offer. I can do the off train option and then a chartered run into Sydney, or I can stay on the train but arrive earlier and miss lunch. While as an enthusiast, that might mean a lot to me, I don't think that as a tourist (which is who they're selling to), there's much ambiguity about the offer.

 

[doc7austin]

I looked at the website, and it's quite clear about the choice that's now on offer. I can do the off train option and then a chartered run into Sydney, or I can stay on the train but arrive earlier and miss lunch. While as an enthusiast, that might mean a lot to me, I don't think that as a tourist (which is who they're selling to), there's much ambiguity about the offer.

Yes, I am aware what is written on the JB website. Unfortunately, this does not correspond to reality.
In many instances, JB were withholding these choices, forcing passenger to make the Blue Mountain tour and bus ride further to Sydney.
No passengers were allowed to take the train between the Blue Mountains station and Sydney !