Across a continent, unrushed: five days on the Indian Pacific

Travelling from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, a legendary rail journey now allows even more time for pleasure and discovery

Like all great train trips, the Indian Pacific is more about the journey than the destination. And what a journey it is: 4,352 kilometres between Australia’s east and west coasts, it’s one of the world’s longest rail routes. As comforts have increased since its inaugural departure in 1970, so too has passengers’ enjoyment of this transcontinental adventure. So much so that a fifth day was added to the eastbound itinerary early this year, allowing time for more off-train experiences, from the outback to the Barossa Valley and the Blue Mountains.

Among 180-odd passengers boarding the Indian Pacific in Perth, I’m hankering for all that awaits between here and Sydney. We are primed for pleasure after generous bites and beverages served on the platform by the 641-metre train’s 27 carriages, serenaded by singer-guitarist Liam. He will perform occasionally en route, and meals and free-flowing drinks are included in all three classes.

Going for gold

Entering my cabin in Gold Premium, the middle-class introduced in 2024, I’m delighted by the long banquette. While anticipating hours reclined on its textured, linen-white upholstery – reading, gazing out the picture window and perhaps indulging in a nap – I hear a knock. A crew member pops in for a personal briefing, and to ascertain my nightcap preference.

As the train begins its trek into the autumn twilight, I discover other thoughtful touches including a gold satin eye mask (also found in roomier Gold Premium suites). Board and card games are available in the lounge exclusive to Gold Premium passengers, where I sip crisp Tasmanian Clover Hill sparkling wine before being invited into our dining car, where booths with white-draped tables have four flip-up leather seats for easy access.

Dinners are four courses, and for this first feast, options include braised lamb shank with polenta and ratatouille, and chocolate praline mousse gâteau. At every meal, every day, the menu is different, delicious and, despite the train’s movement and compact kitchen, appealingly plated.

During dinner, my cabin’s sofa is transformed into a bed that’s reminiscent of a cosy cradle as the train rocks me to sleep. While gathering for our first off-train experience in Western Australia’s gold-mining town of Kalgoorlie, some passengers declare they haven’t slept so well in years.

My chosen tour begins with a sunrise view across an open-cut mine two Eiffel Towers deep. There’s also a 1908 theatre curtain whose splendour evokes the area’s gold rush-era wealth, and a big-bearded character who turns timber off-cuts into handsome boards and beads.

A new level of luxury

In 2026, two luxury suites will be introduced to the Indian Pacific and other Journey Beyond trains. The spacious, stylish Aurora and Australis suites offer butler service, including the option of in-room dining, a personally curated bar and queen-size bed. Guests will also enjoy chauffeur-driven transfers and exclusive off-train experiences.

A different train of thought

Back aboard the Indian Pacific for brunch, I watch the passing panorama evolve. Eucalypts give way to more stunted trees and shrubs, and rust-red earth begins to dominate the view. An English couple at my table are awed by the vast landscape and absence of clouds in the azure sky. I look with fresh eyes outside again, and also within.

The Indian Pacific’s luxury is different to the Northern Hemisphere’s opulent rail journeys (even in top-tier Platinum class with its more spacious suites, Bollinger and transfers). It’s not just that everything beyond the window is entirely different; it’s that the rugged country is embraced inside. The Woods Bagot interior design caresses the senses with a soft Australian-desert palette, including upholstery featuring subtle Indigenous patterns. Cheery and can-do at all hours, the crew are outback-ready in striped RM Williams shirts and Akubra hats, fostering an atmosphere of informality and camaraderie.

Slow travel

Hours and days slip by. I observe a kangaroo leaping across the Nullarbor Plain’s barren red terrain, perhaps striving toward food or water as the sun sinks below an ocean-straight horizon. I see a sprawling salt flat, and emus striding through straw-coloured grass. We eventually cross rivers, then pass cows grazing in verdant, undulating country as the Pacific draws near.

Along the way we disembark for a train-side bonfire, with a tour of the black-velvet sky bejewelled with stars, and Liam singing apropos classics such as The Church’s ‘Under the Milky Way’ and Slim Dusty’s ‘Indian Pacific’. The new five-day itinerary’s signature off-train experience is at Seppeltsfield, a heritage Barossa winery. It’s exceptional, from the food-matched tasting to dinner in the former port storage shed, where shared platters include eye fillet with red-wine jus.lthy diet. We quickly discover it also leads to an outstanding dining experience.

During dinner, my cabin’s sofa is transformed into a bed that’s reminiscent of a cosy cradle as the train rocks me to sleep.

More great Australian rail journeys

The Indian Pacific is operated by Journey Beyond, which offers an equally iconic north-south transcontinental adventure between Darwin and Adelaide aboard The Ghan. The company’s other holidays by rail include The Great Southern, which travels between Brisbane and Adelaide.

In Broken Hill my chosen tour visits hilltop sandstone sculptures by Australian and international artists, and The Old Salt Bush Restaurant, where a guided sampling of elevated native ingredients defies expectations of this remote mining town. Sadly, the Blue Mountains off-train experiences are marred by dense mist, which obscures dramatic vistas of gnarly, eucalypt-covered peaks and gorges, including from the Scenic Skyway cable car.

Nevertheless, I feel deeply satisfied as we glide into Sydney. I’ve crossed a continent, experiencing many and varied pleasures along the way. Perhaps most precious of all is the luxury of slowing down and watching the world go by on this epic, uniquely Australian journey.

Journey Notes

The Indian Pacific’s five-day journey from Perth to Sydney departs weekly throughout the year. Rates start at $3,290 per person, inclusive of all meals, drinks and off-train experiences. The Sydney-Perth journey is four days (from $2,890), and there is also the option to travel just between Perth and Adelaide (from $2,290) or Sydney and Adelaide (from $1,290).

journeybeyondrail.com.au