Travel Australia

Railway Stations: Alice Springs, Northern Territory

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. 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.



Taking the Ghan 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 some time 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.

Ghan Preservation Society Museum

One of the most popular museums in Alice Springs is the Ghan Preservation Society Museum. It depicts the history of the original legendary Ghan railway, which ran between Adelaide and Alice Springs on 3' 6" track from 1929 to 1980 via a different route to the current Ghan. The MacDonnell Siding is beautifully and affectionately reinstated and is home to the museum. The station and rolling stock are on display at all times. The 'Old Ghan' runs 30 km down the track to Ewaninga each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

About Alice Springs

There aren't too many places in the world that can claim year round blue skies, stunning landscapes and a vibrant, diverse community. Such is the boast of the quintessential Australian outback town of Alice Springs, affectionately known as The Alice. The locals claim it is a place where people come to stay for a month, but end up staying forever because of the range of opportunities and rich lifestyle - and they should know, because so many of the 24,000 plus people who live there have done just that.

Alice Springs straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. The town's focal point, Todd Mall, hosts a number of Aboriginal art galleries and community events. Alice Springs’ desert lifestyle has inspired several unique and interesting annual events such as the Beanie Festival, the Camel Cup, and the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, the only boat race in the world that gets cancelled when there is water in the river.

Besides having plenty of unique outback-flavoured places around town to keep visitors occupied, The Alice is blessed by being strategically located amid the major natural attractions of the Territory's Red Centre. Most of these occur in the East and West MacDonnell Ranges, which run east and west of Alice Springs and provide its unique backdrop.