The Ghan and the Indian Pacific are Australia's two iconic long distance railways, famous as much as anything because they cross the vast continent from one side to the other. Whereas the Indian Pacific travels from east to west, The Ghan travels north to south, providing a rail link between Darwin and Adelaide via Alice Springs. The Ghan is a great way to see Australia's Red centre - you get a real feel for the scale of the Australian outback, which you simply don't on an aeroplane. The journey is ideally split into two 24-hour sectors with a stop-over in Alice Springs.
The Ghan and the Indian Pacific are Australia's two iconic long distance railways, famous as much as anything because they cross the vast continent from one side to the other. Whereas the Indian Pacific travels from east to west, The Ghan travels north to south, providing a rail link between Darwin and Adelaide. Today's Ghan is not the first train to carry that name, however the original Ghan took a different route.
The Ghan is a great way to see Australia's Red centre. The two-day trip allows travellers to get a real feel for the scale of the Australian outback, which you simply don't on a plane.
That having been said, you may be aware that some people who have made the journey believe it to be overrated and question the claim that The Ghan is one of the world's great train journeys. As with the Indian Pacific, what must be remembered here is that it is an epic journey across a desert, therefore one must not be surprised or disappointed that for most of the journey, the view out of the windows is of an arid landscape.
Therein is the beauty of the Australian outback, and if you do not see it as beautiful or appreciate the vastness of it all, then you might be well advised to make your journey by air. It's much quicker, often cheaper but gives you no time to read a good book, or the opportunity to stroll around and chat or have a game of cards with your fellow passengers, not to mention the opportunity to see Australia's heart at such close range.
Taking the journey from Adelaide to Darwin in two sectors, with a stopover in Alice Springs, is highly recommended. You do the Adelaide-Alice Springs leg on one train, get off at The Alice and spend a few days there, then continue your journey to Darwin on the next train. In northern Australia's dry season there are two service every week in both directions, so you have the choice of a three-day, four-day or seven day stopover at Alice Springs.
The same can be done at Katherine if you want to spend a bit of time exploring the various natural attractions in the region. Katherine is on the Alice Springs to Darwin leg, so if you are travelling by train in both directions, there is wisdom in doing an Alice Springs stopover in one direction and Katherine in the other.
Gold and Platinum service: luxury travel with choice of single or twin sleeper cabins. Complimentary toiletries and bath towels are provided in all Gold Sleeper Cabins. All meals are included in the Gold Service fare, wines and dining takes place in a Restaurant Car. Includes use of a lounge. The Ghan and Indian Pacific now feature a new ultra-luxurious (and expensive!) Platinum Service, with a choice of double-bed or twin-bed sleeper compartments with private shower and toilet and extra space even compared to Gold Service. As with Gold Service, meals are included in the fare, served in the Queen Adelaide restaurant, and Platinum passengers may use the Outback Explorer Lounge with bar.
One service per week operates in each direction, except in December and Jauary.
Trains leave Adelaide for Darwin at 12.20pm on Sundays and Wednesdays and arrive in Port Augusta for a short stop at Port Augusta. Late that night, The Ghan reaches Tarcoola, where the line splits - The Ghan turns north and heads towards Alice Springs; the Indian Pacific, which shares the line with The Ghan between Adelaide and Tarcoola, continues west onto the Nullarbor Plain. The Ghan passes Woomera and Coober Pedy (25 km east of the line) during the night, but unfortunately it stops at neither place. Alice Springs is reached at 1.45pm during the second day of travel.
A stopover of around five hours at The Alice allows passengers travelling to and from Alice Springs to leave or board the train. It also gives other passengers time to take a Whistle Stop Tour of Alice Springs should they so desire.
Katherine Gorge
At 6pm, The Ghan continues on its journey north. Through the night it passes Tennant Creek and Newcastle Waters. At 9am The Ghan pulls in to Katherine where passengers have the opportunity to take one of a number of Whistle Stop Tours on offer. These include cruises of Katherine Gorge, canoeing the Gorge and a tour of the town. The train pulls out at 1pm and arrives in Darwin 4 hours 30 minutes later. The return journey follows a similar schedule, leaving Darwin at 9am or 10am and arriving in Adelaide at 1.10pm two days later.
The idea of a railway from Adelaide into the far north was suggested in the 1860s when railway building in Australia was at its peak. Up until that time, Australia's outback telegraph and pastoral stations relied on camel trains to bring their supplies, no matter how isolated or far away they were. These camel trains worked the Queensland road, which later became known as the Birdsville Track, as well as the Oodnadatta and Strzelecki Tracks.
Afghan camel drivers went as far as Wyndham and Newcastle Waters to cart supplies to stations which had no other means of fast and efficient transport. Their camels plodded down the many tracks, bringing supplies on their outward journey and returning with wool or any other product. It was the Afghan cameleers who did so much to open up Central Australia. The camels brought everything -pianos, motors, furniture and supplies. The arrival of these beasts of burden was a time of high excitement. Mail, newspapers and long-awaited clothes and cosmetics orders also came this way.
The new railway commenced at Port Augusta by the South Australian Government and headed north-east via the Pichi Richi Pass via Quorn, Hawker and Parachilna. By 1881 it had reached Beltana. Within two years it passed through Copley and reached Farina. As the line to Farina was completed, work was beginning on a southern line from Palmerston (Darwin) that was intended to join up with the southern line when they both reached Alice Springs.
By 1888, Pine Creek was reached, but no further work was carried out on the extension of this line until 1926. By 1884 Hergott Springs (Marree) had become the railhead of the southern line. After some years the line was pushed further north past Callanna, Alberrie Creek, Curdimurka, Coward Springs, Strangways Springs, William Creek, Anna Creek, Box Creek, Edwards Creek, Warrina, Algebuckina and Mount Dutton until it finally reached Oodnadatta in 1891. Oodnadatta remained the railhead for the next forty years.
From 1926 the Commonwealth Railways had assumed management and maintenance of the Great Northern Railway and without its input, the line would probably have never reached Alice Springs. From the outset, the service was equally as popular with tourists as it was with outback residents travelling to and from the big city. A new set of carriages were built in Port Augusta that included nine sit-up cars, one sleeping car, a special service car, a small buffet car and five relay brake vans. The sleeping, buffet and special service cars were all elaborately decorated vehicles modelled on designs perviously used by Commonwealth Railways for their Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie standard gauge railway service. Many of these cars are now in possession of Pichi Richi Railway. Each car has the unusual feature of having horizontally slatted outside louvres based on "Sudan Government Railway" practice which kept the hot summer sun off the window glass, but managed to obscure most of the view from the windows.
It was expected that the railway would assist the development of the pastoral and mining potential of the inland, but the Central Australian Railway never lived up to the many promises made, or the financial success which had been envisaged. Unfortunately, the flash floods and the extreme climate of the outback made the line anything but reliable. It was not uncommon for passengers to be marooned for several days waiting for flood waters to recede or for trackside workers to arrive to repair a section of track that had been washed away. Legend has it that the driver would then have to shoot wild animals to keep the passengers fed. In the 1970's the train was not sighted for three months and essential supplies like milk were flown in daily until it meandered through the gap one day to a community reception and breakfast in Alice Springs which astounded the passengers.
The last narrow gauge Ghan pulled out of Marree at 1:16 am on 25th November, 1980 upon completion of the new standard gauge line to Tarcoola, marking the end of an era and a significant chapter in South Australia's and the Northern Territory's railway history.
According to legend, The Ghan name is believed to have originated in Quorn in 1923 when the Great Northern Express was dubbed The Afghan Express by railwaymen. This was the first time a sleeping carriage was included on the train, and when an Afghan passenger began alighting at Quorn to recite his evening prayers before continued the journey into the night, the train was dubbed the Afghan Express by railwaymen. Some 400 camels were stationed at Oodnadatta during the 1890s, tended by the Muslim cameleers, known in Australia as Afghans, who played an intrinsic role in pioneering the Red Centre. In time, the name was abbreviated to The Ghan Express, then The Ghan, by which time it had been officially adopted by Commonwealth Railways officials.
Over the years, this explanation has often been disputed, with suggestions that the name was coined by railwaymen on the line as a private staff joke at the expense of Commonwealth Railways Commissioner George Gahan, who was responsible for creating and running the iconic railway service. Commissioner Gahan, who was on the first train to Alice Springs in early August 1929, was not liked by his staff. They referred to Gahan's pride and joy - behind his back - as the Gahan Express, putting the emphasis on the word 'express'. The train was notorious for being slow, and was often anywhere up to a few days late. Whether the train was named after the Afghan camel drivers or the unloved Mr Gahan, probably no one will ever know.
Laying the original railway track through Heavetree Gap, Alice Springs, 1920
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