Australia / New Zealand - Any upcoming changes?

[railfan99]

, and then the Spirit of the Outback from Gympie to Cairns. Plus a few shorter trips on loco hauled options. But it's pretty much all been cancelled except the tilt train services.

Spirit of the Outback operates to Longreach, not Cairns. Sorry that you've been so unlucky.

 

[LesS]

Re asian airlines:
China Airlines is Taiwanese and flies via Taipei, I beliee avoiding china airspace. It has a very high reputatian.
The other chinese airlines mentioned also have good reputations. I have friends who have just returned from London by China Southern (via Shanghai. I believe that they continue to use Russian airspace.
For several years I have been using Cathay Pacific to/from Europe and north america. They have a good reputation and are a Hong Kong airline.

 

[RailExplorer]

Spirit of the Outback operates to Longreach, not Cairns. Sorry that you've been so unlucky.

Cairns was supposed to read Brisbane. Error now corrected on the post!!

I had planned on taking the Spirit of Outback between Gympie and Brisbane. And Spirit of Queensland from Cairns to Gympie. Very unlucky sadly. I ended up buying a very very last minute flight and now having to fight to get a refund on the Queensland Rail Pass.

Yes - all Chinese airlines use Russian airspace. Part of the reason I use it as the others are all routing longer distances as they are not allowed to overfly Russia. And now given the Middle East conflict, the European airlines have very narrow passageways between Europe and Asia available.

 

[Elmers End]

I'm looking at a trip, but Vancouver is quite appealing as a way to avoid the US

Indeed so. We had a round the world ticket booked through Trailfinders.
Exact itinerary was LHR > Tokyo > Brisbane > Auckland. Auckland > LA > Vancouver > LHR.
It was a stroke of luck that we were homeward bound in that direction.

A strike by AirNZ staff whilst we were in Tokyo meant leaving a day earlier than planned and missing out on a Bullet Train ride. Brisbane was a diversion and the only way to get to NZ at that particular time.
Stops in LA and Vancouver were to visit friends but with very little railway interest alas.

Trailfinders arranged all the flights, Kiwirail and Interislander tickets. Note that Northern Explorer only runs 3 times a week so additional accommodation costs might be incurred. With hindsight we should have stayed in Christchurch longer than just overnight as there was no real need to catch the Tranzalpine the very next day.
Despite the 3'6" gauge the carriages are spacious enough for 2+2 seating and plenty of legroom, the onboard catering is excellent but you cannot drink your own alcohol on-board.
If the allocated seating isn't to your liking (eg a window pillar) you can ask the train host for an alternative if available. Our trains were loaded to about 75% and they know how many pax are expected to board at intermediate stations etc so we were able to blag one of the table for 4 arrangements.
Kiwirail are running some additional workings of The Southerner between Christchurch and Dunedin in May. I wonder if they might become a more regular feature?
It was good to see extensive freight infrastructure around Auckland, Picton and Christchurch and a lot of ports are still rail-served. Timber and container traffic much in evidence but I believe only 12% of freight is rail-moved.

 

[35B]

Indeed so. We had a round the world ticket booked through Trailfinders.
Exact itinerary was LHR > Tokyo > Brisbane > Auckland. Auckland > LA > Vancouver > LHR.
It was a stroke of luck that we were homeward bound in that direction.

A strike by AirNZ staff whilst we were in Tokyo meant leaving a day earlier than planned and missing out on a Bullet Train ride. Brisbane was a diversion and the only way to get to NZ at that particular time.
Stops in LA and Vancouver were to visit friends but with very little railway interest alas.

Trailfinders arranged all the flights, Kiwirail and Interislander tickets. Note that Northern Explorer only runs 3 times a week so additional accommodation costs might be incurred. With hindsight we should have stayed in Christchurch longer than just overnight as there was no real need to catch the Tranzalpine the very next day.
Despite the 3'6" gauge the carriages are spacious enough for 2+2 seating and plenty of legroom, the onboard catering is excellent but you cannot drink your own alcohol on-board.
If the allocated seating isn't to your liking (eg a window pillar) you can ask the train host for an alternative if available. Our trains were loaded to about 75% and they know how many pax are expected to board at intermediate stations etc so we were able to blag one of the table for 4 arrangements.
Kiwirail are running some additional workings of The Southerner between Christchurch and Dunedin in May. I wonder if they might become a more regular feature?
It was good to see extensive freight infrastructure around Auckland, Picton and Christchurch and a lot of ports are still rail-served. Timber and container traffic much in evidence but I believe only 12% of freight is rail-moved.

That’s useful to know - we’ve found Trailfinders good on previous long haul holidays. I suspect we’ll be more direct, though with friends near Sydney we may break there

 

[doc7austin]

Australia wise - my plans for Queensland Rail pretty much failed entirely due to the flooding in Queensland. I had hoped to catch the Spirit of Queensland from Cairns to Gympie, and then the Spirit of the Outback from Gympie to Brisbane. Plus a few shorter trips on loco hauled options. But it's pretty much all been cancelled except the tilt train services.

That's the norm with Queensland Rail Travel. The cancellation threshold is very low with them.

 

[Springs Branch]

Back again with more questions. Looked at timetable for Melbourne to Swan Hill, I'm hoping to cover this on 31st March. Timetable issued for then states Swan Hill trains stop at a few stops between Melbourne and Bendigo. If did morning one out to Castlemaine, looks like I can intercept return. Have I got this correct?

I'm planning exactly this jaunt on Saturday 14th & will report back if any issues arise.

I did this one last weekend, aiming to get some N-class haulage.

My original plan was to take the Saturday morning Swan Hill train from Melbourne to Castlemaine then intercept the up Swan Hill back to Southern Cross, as @Richard Scott is proposing.

I'd done a bit of research with online images of interiors of ACN cars (the declassified First Class) and V/Line's on-line seating maps to ensure I booked myself seats with a good view, not obstructed by the window pillars or curtains (curtains being a hang-over on V/Line from an earlier age).

At a late stage, I changed my tickets & seat reservations from Saturday to Sunday 15th to cover some extra rail-based opportunities. Still taking the morning Swan Hill train from Southern Cross, but now continuing on to Bendigo. Then a spin around the streets of Bendigo on their heritage tramway, a back-track move around lunchtime from Bendigo to Castlemaine in a VLocity unit, then a Sunday afternoon trip on the Victorian Goldfields heritage railway from Castlemaine to Maldon and back. On return to Castlemaine, it was along to the local Shedshaker Brewery for a feed and a beer or three in the evening sunshine, before catching the evening Swan Hill to Melbourne train around 19:30.

On Saturday evening I noticed a new disruption advice posted on the V/Line website - trains would be running as normal between Melbourne & Bendigo on Sunday, but the Bendigo/Swan Hill leg would be substitute buses. This wouldn't necessarily affect my plans - but I wondered if truncated Swan Hill trains would mean neither N-class loco nor VN hauled stock for my jaunt.

This proved to be the case. With no need for trains to run beyond Bendigo (I don't think VLocity DMUs are approved from there to Swan Hill), V/Line didn't bother firing up a loco, or dragging the VN carriages out of the sidings that Sunday. They substituted a vanilla 3-car VLocity set instead.

It must have been a bit of a come-down for the longer-distance passengers on board too, many with substantial luggage in tow sporting tell-tale airline bag tags, suggesting arrival off a gruelling long-haul flight early that morning. Instead of a nice 5-car loco-hauled train through to your destination, with buffet car and reserved seating (in declassified First if you were smart), it was a 3-car DMU with underfloor engines, a bun-fight for unreserved seats & luggage space, no refreshments (for a 5¼ hr end-to-end journey) and one of the unit's two toilets locked "out of use". Then tipping out at Bendigo for Rail Replacement Buses.

Anyhow, apart from missing my chance for a last(?) trip behind a N-class loco, the rest of the day went well, and at AU$4.00* (£2.10) for a whole day's travel, i can hardly complain. We passed the morning Up 'Swan Hill' (started from Bendigo & also a VLocity that day) halfway between the Castlemaine and Kangaroo Flat stops and an interception would have worked just fine.

If - as in Post #66 - @Richard Scott plans travelling on 31st March (a Tuesday) there may be less chance of RRBs to Swan Hill than is the case at weekends.
And if you do find out on the day it's a VLocity vice N-class loco standing at the platform, you can easily get a full refund on a paper ticket if you get to the V/Line booking office before departure time.


* - $4 weekend daily cap with my Aussie Coffin Dodger's Card. The Goldfields Railway wasn't included, of course, and cost a lot more than $4.00!

 

[Pakenhamtrain]

This proved to be the case. With no need for trains to run beyond Bendigo (I don't think VLocity DMUs are approved from there to Swan Hill), V/Line didn't bother firing up a loco, or dragging the VN carriages out of the sidings that Sunday. They substituted a vanilla 3-car VLocity set instead.

That is or was par for the course where V/Line terminated short for works.
Bairnsdale locos would always be a Vlocity when the track was closed beyond Traralgon.

They dont want to run them that way until the level crossings are upgraded.

Otherwise they get speed restricted.

 

[Richard Scott]

I did this one last weekend, aiming to get some N-class haulage.

My original plan was to take the Saturday morning Swan Hill train from Melbourne to Castlemaine then intercept the up Swan Hill back to Southern Cross, as @Richard Scott is proposing.

I'd done a bit of research with online images of interiors of ACN cars (the declassified First Class) and V/Line's on-line seating maps to ensure I booked myself seats with a good view, not obstructed by the window pillars or curtains (curtains being a hang-over on V/Line from an earlier age).

At a late stage, I changed my tickets & seat reservations from Saturday to Sunday 15th to cover some extra rail-based opportunities. Still taking the morning Swan Hill train from Southern Cross, but now continuing on to Bendigo. Then a spin around the streets of Bendigo on their heritage tramway, a back-track move around lunchtime from Bendigo to Castlemaine in a VLocity unit, then a Sunday afternoon trip on the Victorian Goldfields heritage railway from Castlemaine to Maldon and back. On return to Castlemaine, it was along to the local Shedshaker Brewery for a feed and a beer or three in the evening sunshine, before catching the evening Swan Hill to Melbourne train around 19:30.

On Saturday evening I noticed a new disruption advice posted on the V/Line website - trains would be running as normal between Melbourne & Bendigo on Sunday, but the Bendigo/Swan Hill leg would be substitute buses. This wouldn't necessarily affect my plans - but I wondered if truncated Swan Hill trains would mean neither N-class loco nor VN hauled stock for my jaunt.

This proved to be the case. With no need for trains to run beyond Bendigo (I don't think VLocity DMUs are approved from there to Swan Hill), V/Line didn't bother firing up a loco, or dragging the VN carriages out of the sidings that Sunday. They substituted a vanilla 3-car VLocity set instead.

It must have been a bit of a come-down for the longer-distance passengers on board too, many with substantial luggage in tow sporting tell-tale airline bag tags, suggesting arrival off a gruelling long-haul flight early that morning. Instead of a nice 5-car loco-hauled train through to your destination, with buffet car and reserved seating (in declassified First if you were smart), it was a 3-car DMU with underfloor engines, a bun-fight for unreserved seats & luggage space, no refreshments (for a 5¼ hr end-to-end journey) and one of the unit's two toilets locked "out of use". Then tipping out at Bendigo for Rail Replacement Buses.

Anyhow, apart from missing my chance for a last(?) trip behind a N-class loco, the rest of the day went well, and at AU$4.00* (£2.10) for a whole day's travel, i can hardly complain. We passed the morning Up 'Swan Hill' (started from Bendigo & also a VLocity that day) halfway between the Castlemaine and Kangaroo Flat stops and an interception would have worked just fine.

If - as in Post #66 - @Richard Scott plans travelling on 31st March (a Tuesday) there may be less chance of RRBs to Swan Hill than is the case at weekends.
And if you do find out on the day it's a VLocity vice N-class loco standing at the platform, you can easily get a full refund on a paper ticket if you get to the V/Line booking office before departure time.


* - $4 weekend daily cap with my Aussie Coffin Dodger's Card. The Goldfields Railway wasn't included, of course, and cost a lot more than $4.00!

Thanks for info, I'll see what happens when I get there!

 

[railfan99]

Thanks for info, I'll see what happens when I get there!

If travelling on Tuesday 31 March or the whole of April, the Victorian state government that's lagging badly in the polls (election due end of November 2026) has just announced 'free travel' on all modes from that date for a month, in light of the significant rise in petrol and diesel costs per litre.

You don't need a myki, and nor will you need to touch it on or off.

It will mean some trains are more crowded than usual.

 

[Richard Scott]

If travelling on Tuesday 31 March or the whole of April, the Victorian state government that's lagging badly in the polls (election due end of November 2026) has just announced 'free travel' on all modes from that date for a month, in light of the significant rise in petrol and diesel costs per litre.

You don't need a myki, and nor will you need to touch it on or off.

It will mean some trains are more crowded than usual.

Thanks for the info, that happened in Sydney last year, I'm not complaining!

 

[railfan99]

Thanks for the info, that happened in Sydney last year, I'm not complaining!

Have an enjoyable and safe trip. Please give us detail on what occurred.

 

[Richard Scott]

Have an enjoyable and safe trip. Please give us detail on what occurred.

Ok, the story so far. Started in Sydney, wanted to go to Blue Mountains on Sunday so thought may as well do XPT back from Lithgow, which ran about half an hour late with power cars 2012 and 2004 (2012 required so worth doing). Travelled to Melbourne on Monday, signalling issues on Suburban lines meant getting concerned might miss train at Central but luckily had left loads of time so made it in plenty of time, ran with Power Cars 2002 and 2011 (2011 required). More track issues before Moss Vale meant lost half an hour and ran consistently 30 minutes late the whole way.
Tuesday was day aimed to do locos on Swan Hill line but rehashed timetable due to, yes you guessed it, trackissues! Recurring theme here.
Locos still ran so yo N467 to Kyneton for N460 back. Crew said N458 rostered on evening turn but my usual luck kicked in and train cancelled due to fault with stock, the lucky punters had a unit to Bendigo for a bus forward!!
Arrived in Wellington yesterday and covered the Capital Connection in the evening (16 dollars to first shack) with 7049. Used a Snapper card for rest of moves.
Today got up early to cover all Wairapa Connection services. 05.46 from Masterton was 7307 and 7348 dead on rear (this then formed 08.21 from Wellington to Masterton with 7348 powering and 7307 dead on rear). 06.20 from Masterton was 7064 and 06.47 was 7322.
Viewed evening turns and Capital Connection was same loco. The 17.30 to Masterton runs with two locos but only front one powers. The one tucked inside is fresh one (7145 today) and when gets to Masterton the front one runs round and they top and tail all day.
So you can get 5 locos in a day and 6 in two days, it would appear.
Some of the mark 2 stock is almost as it came out of service in UK bar power doors, others are heavily modified, especially those on Capital Connection with their doors a third and two thirds way.
Hope this helps? If anyone has any questions please ask and I'll try and help. All this is just my observations and no guarantee that it's what happens day in day out.
Some pictures attached.

 

[LesS]

An interesting report.
There is an almost permanent note on the Sydney Trains info site advising to expect delays between Campbelltown and Moss Vale due to poor track conditions. This track is the responsibility of the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) The bridge over the Nepean River at Menangle has a 20kmph speed restriction which has been in place for many months. This bridge dates from 1863. There is no official advice on why. My own information is that there is a track geometry issue on the down line and a bridge geometry issue on the up line.
Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[Richard Scott]

An interesting report.
There is an almost permanent note on the Sydney Trains info site advising to expect delays between Campbelltown and Moss Vale due to poor track conditions. This track is the responsibility of the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) The bridge over the Nepean River at Menangle has a 20kmph speed restriction which has been in place for many months. This bridge dates from 1863. There is no official advice on why. My own information is that there is a track geometry issue on the down line and a bridge geometry issue on the up line.
Enjoy the rest of your trip.

That would explain it, seem to remember it was OK last August when I went that way? Probably not long after that when speed restrictions started?

 

[Richard Scott]

Last few bits on info, covered Te Huia train last Tuesday, didn't really want to go all the way so they let me go one station as Auckland rai network still in a mess with all engineering work going on but normally that's not allowed. Was worked by 7295.
Headed home via Brisbane, noticed Westlander running on a day I was there, again wanted to get off early as had flight home the next day and couldn't do first official stop. Agreed to pay to first stop and they agreed to let me off at Ipswich! Worked by 2902 with 2415 dead inside. Effectively only a 2 coach train when remove generator car and buffet car from equation so assume 2nd loco just for insurance in case of break down?
If anyone has any questions please ask. To some it'll seem daft going all that way for a few locos but both countries offer a lot to see outside of railways so worth it for that.
Due to Middle East issues flew back via Shanghai and did Maglev train from airport as had a few hours to kill (just got a 24 hour visa).
Hope this is of use to someone or at least of interest!

 

[railfan99]

Richard, how did you find the Victorian Goldfields Railway from Castlemaine to Maldon?

What similarities and differences did you observe compared to a typical UK preserved railway such as SVR or WSR (apart from the different track gauge)?

Was you train steam or diesel hauled?

 

[Richard Scott]

Richard, how did you find the Victorian Goldfields Railway from Castlemaine to Maldon?

What similarities and differences did you observe compared to a typical UK preserved railway such as SVR or WSR (apart from the different track gauge)?

Was you train steam or diesel hauled?

Unfortunately didn't get to do that one. Limited time so had to give a miss, something to go back for.

 

[railfan99]

The free, or more correctly Victorian taxpayer-funded, fares on all Victorian public transport has been extended to 31 May 2026, then fares will be half price until the end of 2026.