Australia / New Zealand - Any upcoming changes?

[RailExplorer]

Hello,

I would like to visit both of the above countries and sample a few rail trips - I'm after standard everyday type passenger services rather than tourist only trains. And ideally locomotive hauled.

Australia has the XPTs and two overnight services that are loco hauled north of Brisbane. Is there anything else loco hauled?

New Zealand has a few Auckland commuter trains still loco hauled (I think), and then the long distance workings on both the North and South Island. Is there anything else loco hauled?

I know the XPTs are to be withdrawn at some point. If I were to visit Australia or New Zealand this year (March) and the other in March 2027, which is better to do first considering what might be withdrawn from service in the meantime?

Thanks,

 

[stadler]

Hello,

I would like to visit both of the above countries and sample a few rail trips - I'm after standard everyday type passenger services rather than tourist only trains. And ideally locomotive hauled.

Australia has the XPTs and two overnight services that are loco hauled north of Brisbane. Is there anything else loco hauled?

New Zealand has a few Auckland commuter trains still loco hauled (I think), and then the long distance workings on both the North and South Island. Is there anything else loco hauled?

I know the XPTs are to be withdrawn at some point. If I were to visit Australia or New Zealand this year (March) and the other in March 2027, which is better to do first considering what might be withdrawn from service in the meantime?

Thanks,

New Zealand still has three regional services using MK2 carriages and locomotive hauled trains:

• Capital Connection - Wellington to Palmerston North

• Wairapa Connection - Wellington to Masterton

• Te Huia - Auckland to Hamilton

All three are separate services run by separate operators with their own rolling stock.

New multiple units have been ordered for the Capital Connection (Wellington to Palmerston North) and the Wairapa Connection (Wellington to Masterton) last year. It is a joint order for both. They were ordered in mid 2025 and the locomotive hauled trains are expected to be replaced between 2028 to 2029 depending on the rollout speed. So you still have at least two or three years of locomotive hauled MK2 stock on these two routes.

No new trains have been ordered for the Te Huia (Auckland to Hamilton) service yet. But they are highly likely to place an order towards the end of 2026 for new trains to replace the locomotive hauled MK2 stock. Waikato Council have created a business case for new trains but it depends on further funding being made available next year. So far they have yet to receive conformation about funding for the service to continue. So if they are ordered towards the end of 2026 as planned then it is estimated to be about 2029 or 2030 when they enter service. So you still have at least three or four years or locomotive hauled stock on this route.

There are also locomotive hauled trains on the three tourist long distance Great Journeys Of New Zealand routes (Auckland to Wellington and Chriatchurch to Greymouth and Christchurch to Picton) and these will not be replaced. They have had new carriages built in recent years. So you will always have locomotive hauled trains on these three but they are heavily tourist orientated rather than proper public transport trains like the others.

 

[RailExplorer]

That is a truly brilliant summary

New Zealand still has three regional services using MK2 carriages and locomotive hauled trains:

• Capital Connection - Wellington to Palmerston North

• Wairapa Connection - Wellington to Masterton

• Te Huia - Auckland to Hamilton

All three are separate services run by separate operators with their own rolling stock.

New multiple units have been ordered for the Capital Connection (Wellington to Palmerston North) and the Wairapa Connection (Wellington to Masterton) last year. It is a joint order for both. They were ordered in mid 2025 and the locomotive hauled trains are expected to be replaced between 2028 to 2029 depending on the rollout speed. So you still have at least two or three years of locomotive hauled MK2 stock on these two routes.

No new trains have been ordered for the Te Huia (Auckland to Hamilton) service yet. But they are highly likely to place an order towards the end of 2026 for new trains to replace the locomotive hauled MK2 stock. Waikato Council have created a business case for new trains but it depends on further funding being made available next year. So far they have yet to receive conformation about funding for the service to continue. So if they are ordered towards the end of 2026 as planned then it is estimated to be about 2029 or 2030 when they enter service. So you still have at least three or four years or locomotive hauled stock on this route.

There are also locomotive hauled trains on the three tourist long distance Great Journeys Of New Zealand routes (Auckland to Wellington and Chriatchurch to Greymouth and Christchurch to Picton) and these will not be replaced. They have had new carriages built in recent years. So you will always have locomotive hauled trains on these three but they are heavily tourist orientated rather than proper public transport trains like the others.

That is a truly brilliant summary for NZ. I really really appreciate all that info.

I could in theory fit in both Aus and NZ on the same trip, but feeling it will be rushed - very rushed.

Thank you very much again.

 

[railfan99]

I know the XPTs are to be withdrawn at some point. If I were to visit Australia or New Zealand this year (March) and the other in March 2027, which is better to do first considering what might be withdrawn from service in the meantime?

Although the CAF railcars that are a very poor replacement for the XPTs are set to be significantly delayed entering revenue service, I'd suggest doing Australia first.

There are three, not two, loco hauled in Queensland: Brisbane-Charleville and Townsville-Mt Isa (both of which no longer have sleeping cars) and Brisbane-Longreach. All are listed on the Queensland Rail Travel website.

There's also Cairns to Kuranda loco -hauled.

If travelling to Oz or NZ, you should find it cheaper to depart by air from a European airport, avoiding the horrendous UK long distance air passenger duty.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

Victoria its only the Swan Hill train that is N class and N set. Everything else is Vlocity.
How long that lasts is who knows. There is rumour it being cut back to Bendigo and locos only between Bendigo and Swan Hill.

Other victorian stuff EDI refurbished comeng EMUs should still be around in 2027. Numbers reduced with full time metro tunnel and X'trapolis 2.0 trains entering service.
Alstom refurb comeng trains last until 2030s.

The Metro Tunnel goes full time Feb 1 with "The Big Switch" timetable. Its open now with off peak reduced hours as part of the "summer start"

 

[RailExplorer]

@railfan99 @Pakenhamtrain
Thank you so much for these answers. I think with this information I will go ahead and sort out a 2 week trip to Australia for early March. And do NZ either late 2026 or early 2027 (probably the latter). I have seen some very reasonable prices flights already so it's simply time to get the credit card out!

It's so far to go from the UK that I definitely also want to enjoy some of the country as well.

Thank you very much again.

 

[railfan99]

@railfan99 @Pakenhamtrain
Thank you so much for these answers. I think with this information I will go ahead and sort out a 2 week trip to Australia for early March. And do NZ either late 2026 or early 2027 (probably the latter). I have seen some very reasonable prices flights already so it's simply time to get the credit card out!

It's so far to go from the UK that I definitely also want to enjoy some of the country as well.

Thank you very much again.

It's not as good as when it was for first class travel, but look up the Transport NSW site to find NSW TrainLink Discovery Passes, given the XPTs operate from Brisbane to Sydney, and Sydney to Melbourne.

These now offer only economy class seats, but you can upgrade each journey to first and if available (only 18 berths per train: specify a lower berth!) also pay the sleeping berth supplement. Berths cannot be booked online: call the NSW TrainLink call centre, or book at a major station (but given limited supply, they often book out).

You can use local Sydney Trains "only when connecting to/from a NSW TrainLInk train or coach" but given occasional trains like the Bathurst Bullet (western NSW route) are unbooked i.e. no seat reservations possible, how could revenue protection staff ever prove you weren't?

Brisbane to Sydney is very scenic, as is much of Brisbane to Cairns. Sydney to Melbourne is rural and partly paddocks of wheat or sheep but northbound, there's a spiral at Bethungra, NSW. Junee NSW is a classic railway town with beautiful architecture.

Remember with international airlines, you could choose an 'open jaw' ticket i.e. fly into Cairns (limited international flights) and out of Melbourne, or into Brisbane and out of Melbourne. The ITA Matrix site is an excellent one to see what's available.

Queensland is about to have much further rain in its far north (Cairns etc.) so hopefully any rail line disruptions will be fixed when you arrive.

 

[Springs Branch]

Victoria its only the Swan Hill train that is N class and N set.

Depending on your schedule, there's also the twice-weekly Melbourne to Adelaide Overland.

It departs 08:05 Mon & Fri from Melbourne Southern Cross and 06:55 Thu or 07:45 Sun from Adelaide.
Haulage is a Pacific National NR-class freight loco. Passenger stock is refurbished 1950s-era carriages, with buffet car provided - see image below.

The full Melbourne/Adelaide journey takes all day, but it's possible to do part journeys - e.g. out from Melbourne to Ararat (3½ hrs) on the Overland, returning from Ararat to Melbourne on a V/Line VLocity DMU via Ballarat.

While The Overland is run by private operator Journey Beyond (of Ghan and Indian-Pacific fame), the train is a different beast to the 'luxury land-cruise experience for cashed-up Boomers' of the latter two, and is much more 'approachable' and affordable. The Victorian & South Australian state governments subsidise Journey Beyond to provide an infrequent, sort-of public transport role for country communities along the route between Melbourne & Adelaide. A ticket on The Overland will certainly be more expensive than a similar trip on V/Line, but not necessarily cripplingly so - certainly not like the other tourist trains.

Unfortunately, travel on the Overland requires pre-booking and compulsory seat reservations - but with a twice-a-week operation you'll need a degree of forward planning anyhow. You also need to check in at a reception desk at Southern Cross or Adelaide at least 30 mins prior departure and any sizable baggage needs to be 'checked in' airline style. You have 50% chance of a window seat, and are expected to remain in your allocated seat - although I've booked by phone in the past and always got a window seat as requested.

And don't make the mistake I once did of turning up 26 minutes before departure time (thanks to an inbound Melbourne Metro train) to find the Overland reception desk deserted and all the passengers on board and already locked into the train. The conductor made it clear what a five-star nuisance I was for turning up so late and her having to unlock both the luggage van (for my baggage) and then the appropriate carriage (for me).

Source: Takeshi Aida, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
(Image shows Pacific National NR-class loco hauling The Overland near Geelong, Victoria)

 

[Tester]

Depending on your schedule, there's also the twice-weekly Melbourne to Adelaide Overland.

It departs 08:05 Mon & Fri from Melbourne Southern Cross and 06:55 Thu or 07:45 Sun from Adelaide.
Haulage is a Pacific National NR-class freight loco. Passenger stock is refurbished 1950s-era carriages, with buffet car provided - see image below.

The full Melbourne/Adelaide journey takes all day, but it's possible to do part journeys - e.g. out from Melbourne to Ararat (3½ hrs) on the Overland, returning from Ararat to Melbourne on a V/Line VLocity DMU via Ballarat.

While The Overland is run by private operator Journey Beyond (of Ghan and Indian-Pacific fame), the train is a different beast to the 'luxury land-cruise experience for cashed-up Boomers' of the latter two, and is much more 'approachable' and affordable. The Victorian & South Australian state governments subsidise Journey Beyond to provide an infrequent, sort-of public transport role for country communities along the route between Melbourne & Adelaide. A ticket on The Overland will certainly be more expensive than a similar trip on V/Line, but not necessarily cripplingly so - certainly not like the other tourist trains.

Unfortunately, travel on the Overland requires pre-booking and compulsory seat reservations - but with a twice-a-week operation you'll need a degree of forward planning anyhow. You also need to check in at a reception desk at Southern Cross or Adelaide at least 30 mins prior departure and any sizable baggage needs to be 'checked in' airline style. You have 50% chance of a window seat, and are expected to remain in your allocated seat - although I've booked by phone in the past and always got a window seat as requested.

And don't make the mistake I once did of turning up 26 minutes before departure time (thanks to an inbound Melbourne Metro train) to find the Overland reception desk deserted and all the passengers on board and already locked into the train. The conductor made it clear what a five-star nuisance I was for turning up so late and her having to unlock both the luggage van (for my baggage) and then the appropriate carriage (for me).

Source: Takeshi Aida, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
(Image shows Pacific National NR-class loco hauling The Overland near Geelong, Victoria)

In fact, unless anything has changed, you can travel on the Overland within Victoria at the ludicrously cheap daily fare cap of A$11.40 - reservation required, easily done online.

Get the day right and you can go by Vline train (broad gauge via Ballarat) to Ararat, do the Railway Museum outside the station, and return on the Overland (standard gauge via North Geelong).

Edit:

Further to the above, I just did a test booking for the above for a random Sunday and it worked perfectly - A$8 return (weekend fare cap).

A pretty impressive day out!

 

[QJ]

There are a number of charter train operators in Victoria and New South Wales that operate day excursions (as well as longer tour style trips) from time to time from Melbourne or Sydney using steam or diesel locos hauling stock of various vintage. I try to factor these into my itinerary when these might be running when planning my annual trip to Australia. Last year I went on the Cockatoo Run excursion that had a pair of 44200 class diesels from Sydney Central. It passed a steam hauled excursion enroute. The Cockatoo Run excursion operates a few times a year.

I did an out and back XPT from Sydney to Dubbo on the Western Main line a couple of years ago. I think it still runs with an XPT currently. It is a relatively quick turnround at Dubbo so you might consider getting out at an intermediate station to sample this train over the Blue Mountains then get back on it on its return. Lithgow for example.


The Queensland Rail Brisbane to Cairns train might be considered to be similar to an XPT in that it has a diesel power car at each end.

I have travelled on the long distance QR trains to Charleville, Mount Isa and Longreach and the Cairns train from Brisbane as far as Townsville recently. Definitely an adventure if braving the full journey on them (especially overnight). Regional airports save having to do the journey out and back though. Short journeys to intermediate stops might be a practical solution for you to sample these trains though with a bit of planning.

I know you mentioned not being interested in tourist lines but it is worth checking out some heritage lines in NSW and Victoria such as the Zig Zag railway that can be reached by train from Sydney and the Goldfields Railway based in Castlemaine (reached by catching the morning Swan Hill train from Melbourne Southern Cross to Castlemaine which is currently still loco hauled. Time it right and get a loco back to Melbourne on a train returning from Swan Hill). The GR is highly recommended with its 1 in 40 gradients either side of a trestle bridge. That makes their loco work hard. Footplate rides were on offer when I visited. Now that was an experience. Check the websites for dates of running and booking tickets.

 

[LesS]

Keep in mind that most of the journeys on the 3 Qld trains are overnight and mostly in the dark.

Introduction of the CAF units in NSW is likely to be some time. So much so that the XPT's are undergoing extensive overhauls and upgrades. To achieve this, one service; Sydney - Grafton; is permanently replaced by buses for an indeterminate amount of time.

 

[Springs Branch]

In fact, unless anything has changed, you can travel on the Overland within Victoria at the ludicrously cheap daily fare cap of A$11.40 - reservation required, easily done online.

Further to the above, I just did a test booking for the above for a random Sunday and it worked perfectly - A$8 return (weekend fare cap).

That's interesting, and good news! I might have to give it a bash myself.

My comments about different ticket pricing on The Overland within Victoria was a false assumption based on me looking at doing a Melbourne - Wangaratta day out before Christmas using the Sydney XPT for the northbound leg. In that case the V/Line timetable had specifically said "NSW TrainLink tickets apply" to those trains worked by XPTs.

I see V/Line's current timetable for the Ararat line makes no such mention of non-Victorian fares on The Overland. A Grand Day Out indeed for ~£5.70 (or ~£4 on Sunday)!

. . . . and the Goldfields Railway based in Castlemaine (reached by catching the morning Swan Hill train from Melbourne Southern Cross to Castlemaine which is currently still loco hauled. Time it right and get a loco back to Melbourne on a train returning from Swan Hill).

Castlemaine is not a bad sort of a town to hang around in waiting for your LHRS train back to Melbourne. There are a couple of decent craft breweries in town, if you're interested in washing away the coal dust from the Goldfields Railway.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

That's interesting, and good news! I might have to give it a bash myself.

My comments about different ticket pricing on The Overland within Victoria was a false assumption based on me looking at doing a Melbourne - Wangaratta day out before Christmas using the Sydney XPT for the northbound leg. In that case the V/Line timetable had specifically said "NSW TrainLink tickets apply" to those trains worked by XPTs.

I see V/Line's current timetable for the Ararat line makes no such mention of non-Victorian fares on The Overland. A Grand Day Out indeed for ~£5.70 (or ~£4 on Sunday)!

Castlemaine is not a bad sort of a town to hang around in waiting for your LHRS train back to Melbourne. There are a couple of decent craft breweries in town, if you're interested in washing away the coal dust from the Goldfields Railway.

V/Line basically get a set amount of seats on the train for Nhill passengers.

 

[Tester]

That's interesting, and good news! I might have to give it a bash myself.

My comments about different ticket pricing on The Overland within Victoria was a false assumption based on me looking at doing a Melbourne - Wangaratta day out before Christmas using the Sydney XPT for the northbound leg. In that case the V/Line timetable had specifically said "NSW TrainLink tickets apply" to those trains worked by XPTs.

I see V/Line's current timetable for the Ararat line makes no such mention of non-Victorian fares on The Overland. A Grand Day Out indeed for ~£5.70 (or ~£4 on Sunday)!

A perfectly reasonable false assumption to make!

NSW trains in Victoria are indeed subject to their own fares, perhaps because there is a good Vline service on the same line, whereas there are no Vline trains west of Ararat.

Another grand day out I did last February, although not 100% rail, is from Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road. Train to Geelong, then coach to Apollo Bay, another coach to Warrnambool (via tourist stops including the Twelve Apostles), then train back to Melbourne. A long day and not daily, but all covered by the fare cap.

 

[railfan99]

In fact, unless anything has changed, you can travel on the Overland within Victoria at the ludicrously cheap daily fare cap of A$11.40 - reservation required, easily done online.

Get the day right and you can go by Vline train (broad gauge via Ballarat) to Ararat, do the Railway Museum outside the station, and return on the Overland (standard gauge via North Geelong).

Edit:

Further to the above, I just did a test booking for the above for a random Sunday and it worked perfectly - A$8 return (weekend fare cap).

A pretty impressive day out!

All correct, but on 'The Overland' ex Melbourne, you can (as long as it's not horrendously late) travel as far as Stawell (20 minutes form Ararat: pleasant historic goldfields town) or Horsham, returning by V/Line road coach to Ararat to connect with a VLocity railcar to Melbourne via Ballarat.

V/Line has an allocation of seats on 'The Overland' for intrastate travel within Victoria. The only prohibited journey is Melbourne to North Shore or vice versa, the Geelong area stop.

 

[Tester]

All correct, but on 'The Overland' ex Melbourne, you can (as long as it's not horrendously late) travel as far as Stawell (20 minutes form Ararat: pleasant historic goldfields town) or Horsham, returning by V/Line road coach to Ararat to connect with a VLocity railcar to Melbourne via Ballarat.

V/Line has an allocation of seats on 'The Overland' for intrastate travel within Victoria. The only prohibited journey is Melbourne to North Shore or vice versa, the Geelong area stop.

All perfectly true - I was recommending the Railway Museum, and at that point had my railway day trip hat on!

But I then muddied the waters by mentioning the Great Ocean Road itinerary, so indeed Stawell is an option for a day trip, and I believe as far as Dimboola if you stayed over.

The main point is uncontroversial - there exist very reasonably priced loco hauled options! If only we could do that for £4

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Jan 2026 ==

It's not as good as when it was for first class travel, but look up the Transport NSW site to find NSW TrainLink Discovery Passes, given the XPTs operate from Brisbane to Sydney, and Sydney to Melbourne.

These now offer only economy class seats, but you can upgrade each journey to first and if available (only 18 berths per train: specify a lower berth!) also pay the sleeping berth supplement. Berths cannot be booked online: call the NSW TrainLink call centre, or book at a major station (but given limited supply, they often book out).

I am sorry to hear that the first class option is no longer available as it was truly astounding value - which I suspect explains it

 

[Richard Scott]

Lots mentioned about Swan Hill trains, says on website these need seat reservations, can they be bought on the day or is that risky in case sold out? Likely to be in Melbourne soon so was going to get a unit out to first stop to bring loco hauled Swan Hill train back in, is it possible to buy a ticket in Melbourne before I go? No point getting there to find no availability and can't get on.
Know there's a loco out in the morning to Swan Hill but assume it's the same loco returning that day?
Plan was to try and cover two locos without too late a finish.
Any info gratefully received.

 

[Tester]

Lots mentioned about Swan Hill trains, says on website these need seat reservations, can they be bought on the day or is that risky in case sold out? Likely to be in Melbourne soon so was going to get a unit out to first stop to bring loco hauled Swan Hill train back in, is it possible to buy a ticket in Melbourne before I go? No point getting there to find no availability and can't get on.
Know there's a loco out in the morning to Swan Hill but assume it's the same loco returning that day?
Plan was to try and cover two locos without too late a finish.
Any info gratefully received.

Easily booked online, with seat selection, on the Vline website or app. Generous refund conditions in case of change of mind.

You can make a dummy booking to check availability.

As far as I know, you won't be refused boarding without a reservation, but best to do as easy.

 

[43094]

You can buy on the day, but also I suppose they can sell out.

I vaguely recall a coach set aside for those without reservations, but can't recall if that was for people using (the equivalent of!) an Oyster card, I can't remember what the Melbourne version is called!

I seem to recall that if you do a dummy booking on the website, it tells you how many seats are left to reserve?

It will be the same loco back from Swan Hill, so you'd need to go part way on a service from Melbourne, to pick up one coming from Swan Hill, if you want two locos

 

[AlastairFraser]

I vaguely recall a coach set aside for those without reservations, but can't recall if that was for people using (the equivalent of!) an Oyster card, I can't remember what the Melbourne version is called!

That would be a Myki

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

Lots mentioned about Swan Hill trains, says on website these need seat reservations, can they be bought on the day or is that risky in case sold out? Likely to be in Melbourne soon so was going to get a unit out to first stop to bring loco hauled Swan Hill train back in, is it possible to buy a ticket in Melbourne before I go? No point getting there to find no availability and can't get on.
Know there's a loco out in the morning to Swan Hill but assume it's the same loco returning that day?
Plan was to try and cover two locos without too late a finish.
Any info gratefully received.

They do have unreserved carriages but with it being $11.40 it can fill up.

Although at the moment the Bendigo/Echuca/Swan Hill line isn't running due to bushfire damage at Harcourt.

 

[RailExplorer]

You have all provided so much valuable information. I am hugely grateful. My idea at the moment is, is to fly into Melbourne and out of Cairns. I have 2 weeks approx.

Let me use all the information above and put a plan in place! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

 

[realaledrinker]

Some great advice here. My own experiences for what it’s worth over the last three and a bit years visiting from the UK.

Perth. Fremantle to Perth suburban line. A bit meh.

Melbourne. Worth visiting for the fantastic tram network alone. Did the Bendigo and Ballarat lines, both interesting and Bendigo with its gold mine and historic trams well worth the visit. Also did the Great Southern Road trip mentioned upthread - see Seat61.com for details.

Adelaide. Done the Ghan up to Alice Springs. I thought it was a great experience, if costly. Other opinions are available. Next month we’re booked on the Indian Pacific from Adelaide back to Sydney.

Brisbane/Cairns. Steam train up to Katanga washed out by cyclone damage. As was the Cairns to Brisbane trip in part with a bus replacement to Townsville for the same reason. Shame we were out of season to see the workings on the numerous sugar cane railways as we passed by.

Sydney. Love this place. The extensive suburban system of trams, trains and ferries I am looking forward to hitting again when we go out next month. Did the 4 hour trip to Canberra last year which was a bit like going on a 158 at home. The new driverless metro is fantastic and I’ll be exploring its outer reaches after watching the ‘Mega Metro’ series on the “U” app. There’s some fabulous station architecture and a 4km viaduct to see at the top end.

NZ. Went on the TranzAlpino from Greymouth to Christchurch but it was a big disappointment as Low cloud and driving rain meant we saw nowt.

Not sure that helps the OP much but it’s whet my appetite for our next trip. Note: all explored with a long suffering better half!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Jan 2026 ==

You have all provided so much valuable information. I am hugely grateful. My idea at the moment is, is to fly into Melbourne and out of Cairns. I have 2 weeks approx.

Let me use all the information above and put a plan in place! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

The distances between cities are vast meaning that any rail trips between them will eat up your two weeks. I suggest Melbourne with its trams merit a good look, maybe a trip to Bendigo to see rural Oz and then get to Sydney for a few days. Go on the metro, ferry across the harbour to Manly and a trip on a train over the Harbour bridge. Then straight to Cairns for the Katanga Railway, which I am gutted we missed out on. And take your brolly!

 

[RailExplorer]

Flights are now booked to Australia. Fly into Melbourne and out of Sydney. I have a rough plan in the country (still in my head) but it's all thanks to the comments on this thread that I have any plans at all. I'll post my plan here once it's on paper! Australia should be my 106th country by train.

I also have Google flights set up to inform me if the price drops for flights to New Zealand for November. Exciting year ahead.

 

[railfan99]

Then straight to Cairns for the Katanga Railway, which I am gutted we missed out on. And take your brolly!

Excellent information overall, but it's the 'Kuranda railway'.

The wet season in Cairns, Queensland is from November to April, with March's median 422 millimetres of rain.

In Melbourne it should be mostly dry in March, with the possibility of some very warm days.

If your flight arrives in Melbourne at a reasonable hour, don't forget you can purchase a Myki smartcard (A$6) plus load it up for a day's travel (A$11.40) at the international terminal (T2) as there's a machine on the left hand side as you walk out into the general public area.

The route 901 SmartBus departs from the Terminal 4 carpark: every 15 minutes on weekdays until 2100 hours, then every half an hour. Latter is frequency on weekends. You then connect to a Metro suburban train at Broadmeadows station: down a ramp, a brief subway then up a ramp to platform 2. Frequency is typically every 20 minutes: better during weekday peak periods. Validate your Myki on board buses and trams, but at station entrances and exits for trains. You should touch on and off each journey, except for trams when only touching on is needed. You can alight from the train at Southern Cross or Flinders St, but prior to c.1230 on weekdays, trains operate via the City Loop so best to change at North Melbourne for Southern Cross if you can be bothered. Rolf Schwandl has maps of each city's rail networks at his Urban Rail site: there's also Transport Victoria, Metro Trains for Melbourne, V/Line for rural Victoria, Transport for NSW, Translink for Brisbane, QRTravel for long distance in Queensland and TransPerth to guide you.

If travelling to Bendigo stop off one way at Castlemaine: historic Goldfields town with platform 3 hosting the Victorian Goldfields Railway that typically operates on weekends for the 16km trip along an 1880s branch line to Maldon, Victoria's first 'Notable Town' recognised by the National Trust in 1970. Diesel loco in March 2026, steam resumes in April.

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

If your flight arrives in Melbourne at a reasonable hour, don't forget you can purchase a Myki smartcard (A$6) plus load it up for a day's travel (A$11.40) at the international terminal (T2) as there's a machine on the left hand side as you walk out into the general public area.

The route 901 SmartBus departs from the Terminal 4 carpark: every 15 minutes on weekdays until 2100 hours, then every half an hour. Latter is frequency on weekends. You then connect to a Metro suburban train at Broadmeadows station: down a ramp, a brief subway then up a ramp to platform 2. Frequency is typically every 20 minutes: better during weekday peak periods. Validate your Myki on board buses and trams, but at station entrances and exits for trains. You should touch on and off each journey, except for trams when only touching on is needed. You can alight from the train at Southern Cross or Flinders St, but prior to c.1230 on weekdays, trains operate via the City Loop so best to change at North Melbourne for Southern Cross if you can be bothered. Rolf Schwandl has maps of each city's rail networks at his Urban Rail site: there's also Transport Victoria, Metro Trains for Melbourne, V/Line for rural Victoria, Transport for NSW, Translink for Brisbane, QRTravel for long distance in Queensland and TransPerth to guide you.

Or you could just pay 24 dollars to for the Skybus to Southern Cross station direct and be in the city in about 20-30 minutes.

 

[Tester]

If your flight arrives in Melbourne at a reasonable hour, don't forget you can purchase a Myki smartcard (A$6) plus load it up for a day's travel (A$11.40) at the international terminal (T2) as there's a machine on the left hand side as you walk out into the general public area.

You can avoid the Myki fee (and be prepared) by loading Mobile Myki onto a smartphone.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Jan 2026 ==

Or you could just pay 24 dollars to for the Skybus to Southern Cross station direct and be in the city in about 20-30 minutes.

Indeed you could, but if you will be doing other travelling the same day, the $24 is on top of the $11.40.

Unless you are in a rush that's a saving worth considering!

 

[railfan99]

You can avoid the Myki fee (and be prepared) by loading Mobile Myki onto a smartphone.

Android phones only. Not iPhones.

 

[Tester]

Android phones only. Not iPhones.

Ah - that I didn't know, being of the Android persuasion.

It certainly works well for me.

 

[SLTRegular]

Or you could just pay 24 dollars to for the Skybus to Southern Cross station direct and be in the city in about 20-30 minutes.

Cheaper to buy skybus online if that helps