I like that name but you didn't win because I have never heard it. When the train is replaced, hopefully in the near future, it will not have a sleeping car but I do hope they call it the Olympic Spirit. The train is expected to be bimodal and high speed ( the same as the XPT) but the track unfortunately will always be bumpy.
@@aussiejohn5835 .I will find the story in The Sydney Morning Herald announcing the winner, and the details of the competition. Over 70,000 people entered, I am sure some of them remember. I wasnt present at the naming ceremony (I was in Europe), but I do have the photo. I must admit though the name is rarely if ever used these days.
@@garrywallace1007 I do apologise but I was sceptical because I have never heard or even seen the name mentioned. I don't understand why they would not promote The Olympic Spirit especially after holding a competition and naming a winner. Maybe they think that the train is not worthy of the title. I would certainly push for it to be used for the replacement train if I were you. Again please accept my apologies.
@@garrywallace1007 I think you have been done an injustice and I think you should contact Andrew and Gladys to remind them of your winning entry. I think you deserve the name to be widely used by the Sydney/Melbourne XPT and its eventual replacement. You can ask them why they have not used your title for this train. I would be interested to see their response.
Another great clip! I've used the XPT sleeper about 30 times; mostly Sydney to Melbourne, but occasionally the return service and also the overnight service from Coffs Harbour to Sydney. Everything you said was consistent with my experience, right down to the remarkably perfect temperature setting of the shower. I didn't like the sleeper carriage toilet much (a bit cramped; I used the larger toilets in the adjacent sitting carriage). I mostly had a cabin to myself, but shared 3 times; always with people who were pleasant and interesting company. Why have I used it so much? It's because it suited my one day business trips to Melbourne, with meetings starting at about 9 am. When flying, the choice is to travel the evening before and overnight in Melbourne; or fly down early in the morning. The former meant extra cost and going to the airport in the evening peak (traffic, crowds and peak fares). Going in the morning meant a very early start to get to the airport on time, then a frantic peak hour drive/cab into the centre of Melbourne after arrival. The train offered an interesting option. It leaves fairly late in the evening, so I could do a leisurely trip home from work the evening before, have dinner at home, drive to Revesby station (lots of good services to the airport and Central), park at Revesby (no fees, never any security issues and fairly empty by that time) and catch the train to Central. That XPT would then get me to Southern Cross (Melbourne), already showered and fed, with plenty of time to stroll through the CBD to my usual meeting venue. In the evening I would have dinner in Melbourne, catch the Skybus to the airport and fly back at the end of the peak when it was a bit cheaper. At Sydney, it's a short walk to the Domestic rail station under the terminal and back to Revesby in about 30 minutes. Overall the trip was not only more relaxing, but cheaper when you take into account airport parking in Sydney, or getting cabs at both ends. It worked really well for me, apart from the first trip when I didn't sleep much. That's unusual as I find train movement relaxes me and I only tend to wake up when they stop. What kept me awake the first time was when I woke up at Cootamundra on a clear night with a full moon. The countryside for the next few hours was beautiful rolling hills, forests and open farmland all bathed in haunting blue moonlight. It was so mesmerising I couldn't bear to close my eyes to go back to sleep. Next time there was little moon, but on a dark night the billions of bright stars of the Milky Way seen through crystal clear country air was equally spectacular, so I pulled the blind across to block the view. As you say the track can be a bit ordinary. It is owned by the states, but operated by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (a company owned by the feds). Their job is to make it work commercially for freight; not always an easy task when much of the line follows the same route as in the steam era. However, much of the line is now up to 115 kph, which is a good speed for freight. However, there have been issues, especially with replacing track 'sleepers' (concrete replacing wood) some years ago. This would often be done by a machine lifting the track, dragging out the old sleepers and inserting new ones. They did this during a dry period, and when the rains returned lots of mud-holes occurred under the track (hence the bumpiness). Given the amount of rain in the lead up to your trip, you might have experienced something similar.
Wow, thank you so much for such a detailed explanation! I also used the toilet in adjacent carriage for the same reason! The train is indeed a great option to leave Sydney at night and arrive in Melbourne early in the morning or vice versa. Hopefully NSW Trainlink could keep the sleepers when they get their new trains in 2023!
Your rationale for using the train was exactly the rationale behind the now long defunct Southern Aurora, except it was first class sleeping accomodation only with a full service dining car (you could board the train and dine before the 8.00pm departure and even have non-travelling guests with you) and a full length lounge car, perfect for an after dinner drink. I used it a number of times. It ran non-stop between Sydney and Melbourne, only stopping for operational reason. It was smooth and quiet. It was the only civilised way to travel between Sydney and Melbourne and many business people used it. There is nothing civilised about an early morning flight and an evening return, packed like sardines in a tin can.
Before I went to Europe I didn’t really think anything of our trains. I thought “yeah they’re safe, so I guess it’s a good train” but after coming back, it was so eye opening, that I cannot even get over how dreadful they are. I’ve been twice to visit my grandmother in eastern Russia, and their rural soviet era village trains are just as good as ours in Australia. Sydney, Melbourne and Perth have the perfect setup for cities to be connected by train, but they’ve completely wasted it. Imagine a bullet train between Melbourne and Sydney? It would be amazing.
Excellent video. To not gloss over the terrible condition of the track and the bogie noise is really important - well done! One of the most thorough train reviews I've ever seen (and I've done a stack of international train travel. Brilliant work!
The carriages are so outdated compared to many other services around the world. It does disgust me how much the NSW govt, and most Australian state govts, don't bother to invest in rail.
Australia has the unfortunate combination of huge distances, low population, and lack of interspersed mid-sized cities. Very, very difficult to make railways economic in those circumstances. We would all love modern fast comfortable rail, but it’s more something we say we want, rather than something we’d actually buy tickets for. Sydney Melbourne flight time is an hour and a half. You don’t need slippers or a toothbrush.
The government has literally been talking about a high speed rail link for 30 years. Unfortunately I think it just costs too much to build. Australia is huge and doesn't have a big population.
I first rode the XPT from Melbourne to Sydney in 1999. I had just moved to Melbourne, and I was going to Sydney to meet with a senior member of our board of directors. Being a rail buff, I decided to go by train. I booked a sleeper cabin. Much to my surprise I got a roommate, which does not happen in the U.S. However, it turned out well. He was a senior manager with NSW Trains. We spent half the night talking about trains. Subsequently, when on holiday, I rode the day service between Melbourne and Sydney or vice versa at least six or seven times over the five years that I lived in Melbourne. Most of the time, however, I flew on Virgin Blue or Qantas. As noted in the video, Melbourne to Sydney is one of the best served air markets in the world. I have lived in Australia, Canada, Japan, and eight states of the U.S. Australia is the best place that I ever lived.
This was a fantastic review. If Australia ever decides to take climate change seriously - and that is a big if- we need to make long haul train travel a realistic option. The lack of wi-fi and charging ports is unforgivable in 2021. The food looked questionable. And the state of the tracks especially in NSW (no surprises there) is embarassing. We have the resources to lift our game, just not the will. Subscribed.
This is a great way to travel to Melbourne. I did it a few years back when some trouble with my ears made air travel painful. You leave Sydney after work (and a couple glasses of sedative) and you arrive rested, showered and right in the middle of town. There is also a tremendous difference getting a cabin over the wheels, or between them, for bumpiness.
Is over wheels worse than between? I’m looking at booking this from Benalla to Sydney to connect to my Indian Pacific journey I’m doing after Christmas.
Yes, when i travelled i was over the bogeys on the way down and both felt and heard every bump and clack. On the way home, i was in the middle of the carriage and it was much smoother.
Last time I did that run was in a first class sleeper on The Southern Aurora. My own shower, toilet, big bunks, room service, and even a shoe shine box - french polished wood everywhere. They got me to put my runners in there (had no business shoes) and gave them a clean and freshen up for me - amazing. Even if you make a similar service now, it will never have the same soul to it - which is the main reason for doing it really.
The Southern Aurora was a beautiful train... I remember my mum catching it when I was little.. that was in the 1970’s it was a big silver train... I never forgot it!
@@jenniferschmitzer299 No, that's the 'Silver City Comet' that ran between Parkes and Broken Hill. The restored 'Southern Aurora' operated last week between Sydney and Melbourne: th-cam.com/video/HvKJ4kpBa_0/w-d-xo.html
Unbelievable for the most travelled route in Australia. This is a fine example of Australian Politicians not being able to do anything productive. The fast speed train was promised last Century.
@@backseatgaming9087 you do understand the constitution? Or you just another 5 year old? Trains are not federal responsibility. Trains below to the state. They fund the operations. And given there are Labor governments in what, 4 states, it's their lack of infrastructure spending dope.
What a crying shame that Australia hasn't embraced train travel in the way that Europe (for example) has. Once there were two trains doing the Syd-Mel run. The Spirit of Progress which was the cheaper, and the Southern Aurora which was the businessman's express. I used to catch the Aurora monthly and the restaurant on board was great as it allowed you to have guests to dinner before the train departed. The track was in excellent shape and with the Aurora being a sleeper only train, it was a great experience. And considerably faster than it is now too. Mel-Syd is the one corridor where a high-speed train is hugely viable and it would reduce airport congestion immeasurably.
@@RoryDingDoesn't have to be cheaper than flying. Rail in Europe is more expensive than budget flights. People will pay a premium for convenience and comfort.
@@davidfmelbourne3473 I’ve ridden on the French TGV a couple of times it wasn’t expensive at all, on their off peak services the first class is cheaper than or similar to the economy. Europe has a much larger population with cities not far from each other that’s how trains work so well for them. I would love to see bullet trains do Mel Syd but I think it would be very costly to build the new tracks and I don’t think the line would be profitable in the short run.
I was going to say that too. I've been on on that train several times in economy or 1st class but not sleeper. The worst aspect is the diesel fumes that permeate most of the train. My worst experience was being nauseous and dizzy from the fumes. Drivers must be extremely careful and drive slowly due to the condition of the tracks mainly in NSW I believe. In 2022 it is disgusting that the two biggest cities in Australia are serviced by forty year old trains and very poor trackwork.
i understand what your saying but here in europe we are a lot smaller than your vast beautiful country yes in France i'm lucky with the tgv's for example Lille in the north to Marseille on the south coast is "only 1000km's and takes roughly between 4h50 and 6h00 depending the tgv you get .but at what cost ?billions have been spent since the 1980's to get the tgv to most regions in France would the Aussie gouverment spend that much ?
That would be wasting public money. How are we going to fill the carriages? Australia is a large country with small population. I've travelled on the high speed trains in Europe it's always full to capacity.
This was a comprehensive and accurate review, having done the trip several times myself. However, intending passengers need to be aware of a couple of things. One is that the reliability of this service has gone downhill in a big way. It is now a semi-regular occurrence to turn up at either Central station or Southern Cross in Melbourne to find that either the whole journey has been replaced by a bus(!) or that the sleeper car has been replaced by an ordinary sitting car. You can imagine that at that time of night you would have very few options to then plan alternatives. And you are also right about the poor track quality, not to mention the regular complete shutdowns of the line for so-called trackwork (resulting in the train being replaced by a bus). To be blunt, the service is not taken seriously by the NSW government, and there is no real will to provide a service that meets the public's expectations in the year 2021. That said, the on board staff do their best, and must be fed up with this state of affairs. In summary, by all means give the train a go, but maybe have a plan B on standby. Thanks for taking the trouble to put up this great little video.
Fuck me that's upsetting. I used to take this train economy to Melbourne when I was a teenager (10-12 years ago) It's such a shame that it hasn't caught up, would have loved to see a resurgence
I wouldn't be travelling if a bus replaced the train, or I had booked a sleeper and was assigned a sitter. There should be laws against this. I'd certainly be doing a credit card chargeback.
@@dash8brj honestly... the one time I took a bus last minute Melb to Syd was much comfier than the economy trip anyway and you can actually get off the bus on the little stops.
@@frankie5821 if choosing between economy rail and the bus, bus is better. People are constantly talking and so on in economy. In the hot weather, as above poster mentions sometimes hot weather buckles the tracks in Victoria. I've no idea how this can happen, and as far as I know, doesn't affect the Tilt Train in Qld (rail in Qld is far superior in many other ways too). Anyway, they then cancel the trains possibly part way into the journey for bus replacement which for 1st class sleeper passengers is a bit of a rip.
@@LegendLength Rubbish. The railways in the UK are very heavily unionised and generally provide a very good service. The tracks standards are much higher and a sleeper would only be replaced by buses in exceptional circumstances.
Fantastic video, I actually just left NSW Trainlink as an employee and I never got this perspective of the XPT Sleeper, I knew I sure as hell wasn’t going to spend that much money for such an outdated service. The new trains for this route are apparently going to be ready in 2026 but I wouldn’t count on it, the government loves to be late to schedule. Subscribed!
and they wont be "high speed" bc the victorian side from albury basically to eurora is bumping as hell and cant support the outdated trains currently on it
It is great to see it from a passenger's perspective. I've just joined NSW Trainlink as onboard crew and this has given me a whole new perspective and love for the job :)
As someone who catches the XPT from Sydney to Melbourne often I found this video really informative, I’ve never traveled first class or sleeper cabin. I always wondered how different it was. Between the three options .
Airline food and rail food and ferry service needn’t be terrible. Even the pictures of the Syd-Melb food look disgusting. The food served on Queenslands Inlander train looked great.
The train travel is great for the younger travellers. I have done the Adelaide to Melbourne many times in my younger days. The joustling and rolling from side to side with my old bones would make the train travel a nightmare today.
But in the contrary, I find most passengers on the XPT, spirit of Queensland, spirit of the outback, the xplorer are older travellers, I reckon younger generation prefer flights, the train is slow, most area doesn’t have mobile reception, there’s no power plugs to charge their devices so unfortunately not many people are interested in train travel these days :(
@@RoryDing Thank you for response. I think older folk board as they are retirees and have plenty of time for slow, expensive travel. Many older Aussies make this their bucket list to see the country this way. Stay safe.
Despite the foibles of train travel between melbourne and Sydney it’s way better than the airports and boarding process which always does my head in.Train so much more relaxed and civilised.
1st class train journey, surprise, welcome back to the 1970's, so slow, so slow and then the condition of the track on the NSW side (2/3rds of the journey) means a really rocky journey, never ending ground based trublance. Nice staff and a cheap ok meal service but no wifi.
There is nothing 'First Class' about these sad, aging trains. When it comes to rail transport Australia is a joke internationally. Can't believe Central Japan Railway offered to build us a Shinkansen network and our government turned them down. Australia, the land of mediocrity and proud of it! Good video though by the way.
Roughly fourty years since I last did that trip and certainly doesn't seem to have improved much. Check out Rory's Brisbane to Longreach vid as a contrast. Large country, small tax base and cheap air fares just about guarantee limited future investment in Australian rail infastructure. Not that it was ever up to much at its best, certainly not in Victoria. Red Rattlers anyone?
i agree foresight is a problem, but joke is a bit harsh. The East Coast of the USA has many times more the population than the whole of Australia, yet apart from a couple commuter expresses many of the interstate trains use coaches/cars that are pretty old, on the west coast, Amtrak's Coast Starlight recently retired a parlour car from regular service that was built in the1930's. In the UK an island line on the south coast firstly ran ex Underground stock from the 1920's, then replaced them with more ex Underground stock from the 1930's, which were withdrawn this year to be replaced with more ex underground stock, but at least they are totally upgraded to run on battery power. ...Drew ps The Indian Pacific stock is late 1970's!
@@DrewsRailwayWorld well you are nit picking here. We are talking about the 2 major hub cities in the country and it is still operated by these crappy trains. The train network and service in the UK and Europe is miles better than on offer in aust. This XPT train type was retired in the uk already
@@londonexpert9936 I reject nit picking, just making observations. please allow me to respond to issues with your reply. Firstly, yes the NSW XPT is based on the Class 43, originally branded in the UK as HST125, produced between 1975 - 1982. But, from 1976 - 202x still in service. HST's run mainline intercity services between major cities in the UK, as per the latest information, "...the Class 43 (HST) is still in use with Abellio ScotRail, Arriva CrossCountry, Locomotive Services Limited, and Colas Rail. ... e.g. Abellio Scotrail operate 27 HST sets in 2+4, and 2+5 formations". Most sets in use have had refurbishment along with new motive power units, Loco Services run the 'new' Midland Pullman using Class 43 ex EMR sets, Colas runs Network Rail's Class 43 'new' Measurement Train. So not retired, and very much in use across the network for a few more years at least. Comparisons: Australia v Europe/UK, when comparing with Europe/ UK you also have to take into account population centres and distances between them, e.g. the Eurostar (train sets built 1993 in service) running from London (pop 9.25mil) to Paris (pop. 11mil), a distance of 342kms via the Euro tunnel, time 2hrs 16mins city to city centre (quicker than flying). Clearly you cannot compare. The combined wealth of the two countries (UK & France) is US$5 Trillion v Australia US$1.42 Trillion, the combined London/Paris population approx. 20.25mil v Sydney/ Melbourne 10.5mil, the infrastructure cost, including the Eurotunnel was US$31.8 billion a cost shared across many different groups across the two countries. From Paris regular services can take you across Europe within hours but the distances are relatively small, e.g. Paris to Amsterdam 430kms in 3.5hrs by the Thalys service. Long distance intrastate trains are problematic, and even more so interstate services. In 2008, a A$25 billion proposal to build a high speed train between Sydney and Melbourne, which at the time was the "government's highest infrastructure priority", is still on the drawing board, why? Simply, it is not viable even when the world is awash with cheap money to borrow. For a more reality based comparison you need look at Amtrak and Via Rail ........they deal with similar distances, although unlike Australia, Amtrak (USA) and Via Rail (Canada) still provide public interstate trains but then their populations are far greater, even so Via Rail get a C$500 (2018) government (taxpayer) subsidy for every ticket sold on the 'Canadian'. I did suggest an affordable upgrade to the XPT service with upgraded and refurbished rolling stock, similar to QR's Brisbane - Cairns service. For better interstate trains we probably need to lobby the Federal Infrastructure/Transport Minister. Finally, you can certainly make a more equal comparison with Australia's metro/urban railways/trams, they compare very well worldwide, with virtually all major Australian cities/ states investing in urban rail infrastructure with new rolling stock. routes etc. ....Drew
I was going to say the same, embarrassing, the Japanese built there system after world war 2 and maintain it with a train that is full of electronics. We are so far behind it’s hilarious
Thanks for such an objective analysis. I'm a boomer retiree who loves trains. I like to know what I'm in for on a trip: it may be good or bad but informed before the trip makes all the difference, thanks!
Thank you for the review - I’ve always wondered what it’s like. Also thank you for airing the announcements- makes me laugh about how we do things in Australia.
Thanks so much for the video. I am traveling from Goulburn to Melbourne next week and sleeping on the train so it was great to see what I should be expecting.
Thank you! I’m glad that you find it helpful 😊 I think they have returned to almost 100% capacity now so you might have to share a cabin with someone if you’re travelling alone
What a great video thank you. As a child living in NZ I took many beautiful trains including the Wellington to Auckland Silver Star which was magnificent but very short lived and have always been interested to know what the XPT was like. Thinking I will stay with my fond memories and simply fly to Melbourne.
wow just came across your channel - what a laugh as it brought back so many memories of 2019 - i was living in Cairns and flew down to Brisbane where i hired a car to visit my daughter in Miles - she had recently moved from Longreach so i know that train well - after visiting her i took the train Brisbane to Sydney spent a few days then Sydney to Melbourne to visit my son - I cant wait to start traveling again - thanks enjoyed the filming your narration and content 9/10
Thanks for this review - I really appreciated your opinion without judgement. I would consider this as an option to air travel, and I have taken on board your comments regarding the comfort and other aspects of the journey.
Interesting, but the XPT is about to be replaced by a new Spanish train, which will also replace the Explorer. Hopefully we will get modern facilities, better meals and charging for devices. No word on sleepers, but the way this current NSW government handled inter-urban replacement trains, don't hold your breath. As for the track, this is a Federal government responsibility under Transport minister and deputy PM Maybelline McCormack. Do not expect any track improvements during the tenure of this minister. Now I often travel to Melbourne on the XPT, but always take the daylight service. It's good, the food is passable, sometimes fast - up to 160 between Wagga and Albury, but has speed restrictions slow the journey between Albury and Melbourne. I have never known it to be late arriving, but the floods in 2016 meant the return journey was 20 minutes late in Albury, and only 3 minutes late at Central. It was a near run thing!
Glad this came up on my TH-cam. Very informative and looks like a good way to travel and see a bit of the countryside. Hoping one day Australia builds high speed trains between capital cities.
Airfares in Europe is cheaper, and flying to regional Australia is not cheap at all I think We just don’t have enough population in regional nsw and vic to support a bullet train line
@@RoryDing Yep. Maybe not bullet train, something like the KTX in Korea, which still travels at 300 km/h linking Seoul to regional cities like Daegu and Busan. It's a pipe dream of mine as I think it might help rejuvenate regional centers and reduce demand on housing in the capital cities. Imagine it only taking 1.5hrs to travel from Albury to Melbourne :) But I know I'm dreaming hahaha.
LOL I took the train reverse Melbourne to Sydney in the late 1970s. It was a great party night, lots of alcohol and rowdy passengers. I didn't see any mention of alcohol in this video so I guess it's not as much fun these days!
Love the XPT I have been on the XPT train before from Melbourne to Sydney and the sleeper cabin Sydney to Melbourne I recommend going on the XPT train from Melbourne to Sydney economy class and first class are the best so are the sleeper cars and buffet cars why better than flying .
I totally believe you. I'd be very interested to see what the new XPT's would be like, mainly the sleeper. While it will be a while before they become in service (as they haven't even started production yet) I'm very excited to see the new fleet, as the current fleet of XPT's and XPLORERS are aging quite fast.
The XPT replacement is inferior to the XPT. It is a DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit). So passengers in every car will be seating above a noisy engine. The XPT has a power car at each end and passengers are well insulated from engine noise. The XPT could have been reengineered with modern technology, it's unfortunate NSW has endured a succession of toxic governments intent on running the rail network into the ground.
@@vegantard_5989 DMUs make sense in the UK, where you have short distances between stops and need the acceleration. For an eleven-hour journey it makes far more sense to use loco-hauled stock.
Thanks for another great video, Rory. I had just ONE ride on an XPT and it was way back in their beginnings back from Albury to Sydney in 1984 sitting up. It was a part of my 2-week Nurail First Class pass on all NSW trains and I do remember as someone commented in here the diesel fumes permeating the carriage, even when they were a lot newer!
Hi Rory, excellent video. Thanks for sharing. I have taken the XPT train between Sydney and Melbourne several times. However, I have only travelled on the daylight trains. Yes, using the XPT is far better than flying. There is a lot of great scenery to see between the two cities. Currently, masks are mandatory on public transport here in Melbourne also. Anyway, all the very best. Robert.
This is my second dip into your channel and thanks for a great review. I was pleasantly surprised by the refurbishment the XPT has had in recent years as I haven't travelled on it in over a decade. I was very pleased at the standard of on train announcement as the train approached Melbourne, also the chirpy decorum of the catering lady's announcement. Very much an improvement on the standards of years gone by when NSW conductors treated passengers like convicts with their surly announcements and decorum. Now let me see how you liked the Explorer and Spirit of The Outback trains.
Very timely! I will be visiting Melbourne in a couple of months and chose to splurge on a train, although not a sleeper, instead of a plane ride. This partly because I've done long-distance train travel before but in other countries, not AU. Plus Southern Cross station is so much more convenient for public transport in Melbourne than Tullamarine Airport. :-)
I have no idea how I ended up on your channel watching your videos, what's even more perplexing is that I am by no means a train or plane buff and yet here I am, 5 videos in and going strong LOL. I have even subscribed :) Re: Your bed-making skills & the finished product ...compared to XPT Staff made Bed Dude you smashed it ...... NICE ONE. :)
Took the train once to MEL. As a train enthusiast, it was a fun journey. It was a daytime run and was boring as hell. My son was 6 so he got agitated pretty often. This video is excellent and balanced. Thank you.
I've done this overnight train. It was horrible in sleeper because the wheels on the track make really screechy noises ALL THE TIME and I couldn't sleep. Done overnight in economy from Sydney to Brisbane too. That was worse than lying awake in sleeper for hours because it involved SITTING awake for hours. I think it's a great service for the country towns along the way that don't have good airports.
As someone from the UK it's interesting to see the XPT, but my word it looks like it hasn't undergone any refurbishment since at least the 1990s. Here in the UK the Intercity 125 trains are being replaced on most routes with much more modern trains, however some have been heavily refurbished and are now being used by Scotrail on some of their routes such from Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen. Most 125 trains have been refurbished several times too since their introduction and those Scotrail are now using have been fully modernised and updated with new seats, new interiors, power plug and USB sockets, electronic doors and WIFI. That Sidney to Melbourne corridor would be perfect for a high speed route if it is that busy too.
I've travelled to Sydney to Melbourne on the xpt, the overnight was fantastic for me because it allowed me spend a longer time in Sydney and I could get off the train and go straight into work. Door to door between Sydney to Melbourne is approximately 5 hrs in reality, this was better option for me. But these seats sell out quickly.
glad i saw this video because i was thinking abt going to mel by train for my summer internship. now I will definitely go by air. this train does not feel like we are in 2022.
Had a powerlifting competition in Melbourne and i decided to catch a train from sydney in economy class. Lets just say i did not sleep and had to walk in the isle to loosen up.
That was a good video. Appreciate the effort gone into making an enjoyable, clear, informative and well thought out video. I have always wanted to try the XPT train but was afraid of being stuck 11 hours in the train if the journey is unpleasant. It does not seem too bad from your video. Thanks!
Agreed! That noise and bumpiness doesn’t affect me at all, I wish we could have more overnight long distance trains in Australia! but I thought it’s important to point it out in the video to those who can’t deal with noise at nighttime
Yep this is a pretty accurate review of these things. These xpts are well and truly past their use by date and they belong in a railway museum with all the other old and retired trains but here are they nearly 40 years later and they are still trapsing up and down the east coast of Australia. Hopefully come 2023/2025 the state government will replace these ancient things with a new fleet of xpts with all your modern creature comforts like WiFi, on board entertainment and a seat power sockets to charge up your phone/ device but I wouldn't hold my breath though. All and all still a very good video.
Well don't expect anything to be replaced while the pollies go for "carbon neutral" and kill the economy. Get more people living in country towns and get the economy going again, ie manufacturing... and yes taxes can pay for this. I'd prefer a cost positive train where it can actually make money though. The thing that could really get people back on trains is to have a hire car service at either end thus enabling people not to feel transportless. Or towns that service this have a special bus which will taxi people around the town and while Sydney won't really need a specific one, a courtesy bus around the CBD and North Sydney/Redfern Alexandria would be great. Encouraging schools to use them too would be good. Excursions/group school trips and/or country students going back to Sydney for the term. Offer (one)a free ticket to people that pay car registration and hopefully get them to enjoy it so they will come back again. Also their family if needing to travel together will have to be paid for. So it won't be really "free"..... The thing is the XPT is more a gimmick than it is a fast train. There is no railway in Australia that can accommodate speeds of 200kph+. Because of the convenience of motor vehicles and the seriously amount of huge open land Australia has (unlike Asian countries like Japan where even everyone has a motor vehicle there too and uses them instead of public transport but not always)I doubt people will return to using public transport in country regional trains etc. And with the recent crash I would suggest that these trains be fully enabled and utilised with a fully implemented safety system. Australia has a long way to go and we need full ATP for high speed trains. And when it isn't available due to track works or whatever (like signal failures) the speed needs to be reduced to 25kph and if above that the train will be brought to a stop immediately by emergency brake. Just saying.
The XPT will be replaced by CAF Civity in 2023 Every time I caught this train it was always packed so there’s no issue with filling up the train, in fact they should run more services each day. And I’m pretty sure most stations are built in the centre of the city/town?
@@MitchellBPYao Neither the XPTs nor their replacements are(/will be) double decker. Only the Intercity services are served by double decker carriages, with these travelling as far as Nowra, Goulburn, Bathurst, and Scone.
I do prefer taking the train as it's more relaxing but sleeping on it for me was impossible and kept worrying I would miss my stop (I was in a sleeper, shared with a stranger). I was going a bit outside Melbourne. The staff do come by to wake you up but didn't give me much time to get ready. I think maybe three minutes before arriving. Luckily I was already awake.
As someone who has done the Sydney to Melbourne trip numerous time I grew to hate this trip. I would only use it because it was really cheap for me as a student, $80 each way. The seats are absolutely horrible and if you are doing it I recommend doing a day trip because atleast then you can distract yourself with some nice sights. If you are travelling overnight you have to use the first class sleeper. But goodluck getting any sleep because the tracks the entire way are rubbish. On several sections of track I nearly got rocked out of my bed. In the end the 1hr30min flight is way better. Very accurate review!
If you come here definitely try the sydney to brisbane train or sydney to broken hill (the sydney to melbourne is pretty uneventful, bumpy and has no wifi for most of the way) 👍
I'll travel anywhere as long as I know what I'm in for (In for what I am?) Thanks for the very informative presentation. I'll be visiting Sydney (post-Covid lockouts) and am still a train-user.
Hi, new to your channel, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your review, it is informative, and pleasantly presented in an unbiased way. But, I have some observations, from experience air travel delays/cancellations are not uncommon, some economy passengers are crammed in like sardines, so 1.5hrs can seem a lifetime, knees up around you chest, sat next to a person using the loo every 10 minutes, + by air you must allow for non city central locations/ check-in at airports, I admit it's still 6 - 7 hours quicker, however, cost wise, 1st Class Rail Sleeper to be fair must equal Business Class Air (Eco Fare+ $239 upgrade). Anyway, if your in a hurry you wouldn't choose train anyway, infrastructure priority here is generally road rather than rail. We could have an HST/XPT service avg. speed 125mph if existing infrastructure was upgraded/maintained, result, a reasonable journey time of 4.75 - 5.75hrs, UK HST/XPT's have performed at 125mph since 1975 on existing tracks, now mostly retired after 45yrs. All this pales into insignificance when the French TGV has been test run at 574.8kmph, and today Chinese HS 'G" trains, partly developed from imported German (ICE)/ Japanese (Shinkansen) technology, typically travel at 200-350kmph over a 38,000km network!! Big difference is they use dedicated and specifically designed tracks with all new B$$$ infrastructure, imagine Sydney to Melbourne in less than 3hrs, a pipe dream? ...Cheers Drew
Drew what you said is great...however... those very fast European trains that you nominated have pax numbers far exceeding those of Australian trains. If our trains had many 1000s per week (some European trains have 1000s per day!) we could have smooth lines too. Same goes for all our public transport. We are such a spread out country with many more miles of roads per head of population than pretty much any other country in the world except maybe Russia. It's impossible to get people to where they live by viable public transport. This is why we drive. It is cheaper in the long run and far easier to stay in the one mode of transport than cvhange two-three times each trip. And we carry so much more in our cars for each trip because again we are so spread out. We can't walk to get shopping done or go to work. We have to drive miles often right across the city to the other side. And to get to other cities we fly because in the end, it is easier. Most people don't have a day to sit to get where they are going and another day to sit going back the other way. Most Aussies are incapable of sitting for more than a couple hours in anycase.
@@ClissaT HI, thanks, I agree. I have made that very point in another reply in this string when someone argued that Australia had crap trains claiming we should have a Shinkansan type service, as I pointed out that the reason we don't have an HST yet is largely due to population and cost v. returns. Proximity and population, as I have said before, in reference to the long distance service discussion is the reason nothing will happen, if it can't be justified in the Sydney/Melbourne corridor it won''t be justifiable anywhere in Australia. However, intrastate and urban rail is seeing huge investment across the country, in my own backyard here in Perth we are seeing investment in new rolling stock, extended existing lines, new lines, new stations, and new railcars for the country service to Bunbury, etc., all of which are world class so I don't accept the crap train claim.
I named that train in a competition in 1995! I called it the Olympic Spirit, because it links the 2 Olympic Hosts Melbourne and Sydney... :)
I like that name but you didn't win because I have never heard it. When the train is replaced, hopefully in the near future, it will not have a sleeping car but I do hope they call it the Olympic Spirit. The train is expected to be bimodal and high speed ( the same as the XPT) but the track unfortunately will always be bumpy.
@@aussiejohn5835 .I will find the story in The Sydney Morning Herald announcing the winner, and the details of the competition. Over 70,000 people entered, I am sure some of them remember. I wasnt present at the naming ceremony (I was in Europe), but I do have the photo. I must admit though the name is rarely if ever used these days.
@@garrywallace1007 I do apologise but I was sceptical because I have never heard or even seen the name mentioned. I don't understand why they would not promote The Olympic Spirit especially after holding a competition and naming a winner. Maybe they think that the train is not worthy of the title. I would certainly push for it to be used for the replacement train if I were you. Again please accept my apologies.
@@garrywallace1007 I think you have been done an injustice and I think you should contact Andrew and Gladys to remind them of your winning entry. I think you deserve the name to be widely used by the Sydney/Melbourne XPT and its eventual replacement. You can ask them why they have not used your title for this train. I would be interested to see their response.
Totally bought it!
Another great clip!
I've used the XPT sleeper about 30 times; mostly Sydney to Melbourne, but occasionally the return service and also the overnight service from Coffs Harbour to Sydney. Everything you said was consistent with my experience, right down to the remarkably perfect temperature setting of the shower. I didn't like the sleeper carriage toilet much (a bit cramped; I used the larger toilets in the adjacent sitting carriage). I mostly had a cabin to myself, but shared 3 times; always with people who were pleasant and interesting company.
Why have I used it so much? It's because it suited my one day business trips to Melbourne, with meetings starting at about 9 am. When flying, the choice is to travel the evening before and overnight in Melbourne; or fly down early in the morning. The former meant extra cost and going to the airport in the evening peak (traffic, crowds and peak fares). Going in the morning meant a very early start to get to the airport on time, then a frantic peak hour drive/cab into the centre of Melbourne after arrival.
The train offered an interesting option. It leaves fairly late in the evening, so I could do a leisurely trip home from work the evening before, have dinner at home, drive to Revesby station (lots of good services to the airport and Central), park at Revesby (no fees, never any security issues and fairly empty by that time) and catch the train to Central. That XPT would then get me to Southern Cross (Melbourne), already showered and fed, with plenty of time to stroll through the CBD to my usual meeting venue. In the evening I would have dinner in Melbourne, catch the Skybus to the airport and fly back at the end of the peak when it was a bit cheaper. At Sydney, it's a short walk to the Domestic rail station under the terminal and back to Revesby in about 30 minutes. Overall the trip was not only more relaxing, but cheaper when you take into account airport parking in Sydney, or getting cabs at both ends.
It worked really well for me, apart from the first trip when I didn't sleep much. That's unusual as I find train movement relaxes me and I only tend to wake up when they stop. What kept me awake the first time was when I woke up at Cootamundra on a clear night with a full moon. The countryside for the next few hours was beautiful rolling hills, forests and open farmland all bathed in haunting blue moonlight. It was so mesmerising I couldn't bear to close my eyes to go back to sleep. Next time there was little moon, but on a dark night the billions of bright stars of the Milky Way seen through crystal clear country air was equally spectacular, so I pulled the blind across to block the view.
As you say the track can be a bit ordinary. It is owned by the states, but operated by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (a company owned by the feds). Their job is to make it work commercially for freight; not always an easy task when much of the line follows the same route as in the steam era. However, much of the line is now up to 115 kph, which is a good speed for freight. However, there have been issues, especially with replacing track 'sleepers' (concrete replacing wood) some years ago. This would often be done by a machine lifting the track, dragging out the old sleepers and inserting new ones. They did this during a dry period, and when the rains returned lots of mud-holes occurred under the track (hence the bumpiness). Given the amount of rain in the lead up to your trip, you might have experienced something similar.
Wow, thank you so much for such a detailed explanation! I also used the toilet in adjacent carriage for the same reason!
The train is indeed a great option to leave Sydney at night and arrive in Melbourne early in the morning or vice versa. Hopefully NSW Trainlink could keep the sleepers when they get their new trains in 2023!
Your rationale for using the train was exactly the rationale behind the now long defunct Southern Aurora, except it was first class sleeping accomodation only with a full service dining car (you could board the train and dine before the 8.00pm departure and even have non-travelling guests with you) and a full length lounge car, perfect for an after dinner drink. I used it a number of times. It ran non-stop between Sydney and Melbourne, only stopping for operational reason. It was smooth and quiet. It was the only civilised way to travel between Sydney and Melbourne and many business people used it. There is nothing civilised about an early morning flight and an evening return, packed like sardines in a tin can.
Appreciate the written experience mate, very interesting to read
@@Crosshead1 I likewise used the Southern Aurora a number of times, even boarding the train at Benalla a couple of times.
So interesting snd helpful, thank you.
Good to see the food hasn't improved in the 17 years since I used the xpt
yeah better lookin bikkies at the blood bank
I think the term “First Class” constitutes a breach of the Trades Descriptions Act lol 😂
I've done this journey (but from Goulburn to Melbourne) overnight in economy and the sleeper looks like the height of luxury in comparison
Before I went to Europe I didn’t really think anything of our trains. I thought “yeah they’re safe, so I guess it’s a good train” but after coming back, it was so eye opening, that I cannot even get over how dreadful they are. I’ve been twice to visit my grandmother in eastern Russia, and their rural soviet era village trains are just as good as ours in Australia. Sydney, Melbourne and Perth have the perfect setup for cities to be connected by train, but they’ve completely wasted it. Imagine a bullet train between Melbourne and Sydney? It would be amazing.
I’ve often said Russias trains and service are better than ours here in Aust and got dirty looks but it’s true.
Excellent video. To not gloss over the terrible condition of the track and the bogie noise is really important - well done!
One of the most thorough train reviews I've ever seen (and I've done a stack of international train travel. Brilliant work!
Thank you!!
Tbh I couldn’t find a decent XPT review on TH-cam that’s why I decided to do it myself. Glad you like it 😊
The carriages are so outdated compared to many other services around the world. It does disgust me how much the NSW govt, and most Australian state govts, don't bother to invest in rail.
Yeah Ikr, we still stuck in the 1980s
New trains are due by 2023 for these long distance routes
Nick Hiscock They’re juts a diesel metro train. Ironing board seated trash.
Australia has the unfortunate combination of huge distances, low population, and lack of interspersed mid-sized cities. Very, very difficult to make railways economic in those circumstances. We would all love modern fast comfortable rail, but it’s more something we say we want, rather than something we’d actually buy tickets for. Sydney Melbourne flight time is an hour and a half. You don’t need slippers or a toothbrush.
The government has literally been talking about a high speed rail link for 30 years. Unfortunately I think it just costs too much to build. Australia is huge and doesn't have a big population.
This guy has the best video's. He's very informative and doesn't babble on with pointless details. Definately a subscriber I am.
Thank you! 😊
Excellent video review of the XPT. Probably the best I've seen on TH-cam.
Thank you!! Glad you like it! 😊
I first rode the XPT from Melbourne to Sydney in 1999. I had just moved to Melbourne, and I was going to Sydney to meet with a senior member of our board of directors. Being a rail buff, I decided to go by train.
I booked a sleeper cabin. Much to my surprise I got a roommate, which does not happen in the U.S. However, it turned out well. He was a senior manager with NSW Trains. We spent half the night talking about trains.
Subsequently, when on holiday, I rode the day service between Melbourne and Sydney or vice versa at least six or seven times over the five years that I lived in Melbourne. Most of the time, however, I flew on Virgin Blue or Qantas. As noted in the video, Melbourne to Sydney is one of the best served air markets in the world.
I have lived in Australia, Canada, Japan, and eight states of the U.S. Australia is the best place that I ever lived.
Thanks for sharing your stories it’s very interesting 😊
this channel is so underrated
Oooooh I totally agree. genuine reviews just like James Asquith YT videos
THATSNOTFERT
Love your commentary, and the video editing!! Very easy and soothing to watch. Thank you!!
Thank you! Always appreciate your support ☺️
That menu readout was priceless.
This was a fantastic review. If Australia ever decides to take climate change seriously - and that is a big if- we need to make long haul train travel a realistic option. The lack of wi-fi and charging ports is unforgivable in 2021. The food looked questionable. And the state of the tracks especially in NSW (no surprises there) is embarassing.
We have the resources to lift our game, just not the will.
Subscribed.
Wifi is not a big deal but charging ports yeah...
Hopefully they could build a new track one day
@@RoryDing I think free wi-fi is important for international travellers who may have issues with using roaming data on their phones.
I couldn't agree more. Australia has so much potential
Idiot
@@tims5129 Fuck off
This is a great way to travel to Melbourne. I did it a few years back when some trouble with my ears made air travel painful. You leave Sydney after work (and a couple glasses of sedative) and you arrive rested, showered and right in the middle of town. There is also a tremendous difference getting a cabin over the wheels, or between them, for bumpiness.
Is over wheels worse than between?
I’m looking at booking this from Benalla to Sydney to connect to my Indian Pacific journey I’m doing after Christmas.
Yes, when i travelled i was over the bogeys on the way down and both felt and heard every bump and clack. On the way home, i was in the middle of the carriage and it was much smoother.
I did that journey a few times in the 90's when air fares were higher, looks to be the same train. This is a good and fair review.
The train was built almost 40 years ago in 1982.
Last time I did that run was in a first class sleeper on The Southern Aurora. My own shower, toilet, big bunks, room service, and even a shoe shine box - french polished wood everywhere. They got me to put my runners in there (had no business shoes) and gave them a clean and freshen up for me - amazing. Even if you make a similar service now, it will never have the same soul to it - which is the main reason for doing it really.
was that the 1950s?
The Southern Aurora was a beautiful train... I remember my mum catching it when I was little.. that was in the 1970’s it was a big silver train... I never forgot it!
Bits of it are up on chocks in broken hill. Bet you had proper China plates too
@@jenniferschmitzer299 No, that's the 'Silver City Comet' that ran between Parkes and Broken Hill. The restored 'Southern Aurora' operated last week between Sydney and Melbourne: th-cam.com/video/HvKJ4kpBa_0/w-d-xo.html
Unbelievable for the most travelled route in Australia. This is a fine example of Australian Politicians not being able to do anything productive. The fast speed train was promised last Century.
Fine example of the LNP screwing over public transport infrastructure
@@backseatgaming9087 no, it’s the liberal national coalition.
@@backseatgaming9087 The LNP is the QLD subsidiary of the Liberal/National coalition.
@@backseatgaming9087 you do
understand the constitution? Or you just another 5 year old? Trains are not federal responsibility. Trains below to the state. They fund the operations. And given there are Labor governments in what, 4 states, it's their lack of infrastructure spending dope.
Both major parties are shit yet aussies keep voting them in 🤦♂️
What a crying shame that Australia hasn't embraced train travel in the way that Europe (for example) has. Once there were two trains doing the Syd-Mel run. The Spirit of Progress which was the cheaper, and the Southern Aurora which was the businessman's express. I used to catch the Aurora monthly and the restaurant on board was great as it allowed you to have guests to dinner before the train departed. The track was in excellent shape and with the Aurora being a sleeper only train, it was a great experience. And considerably faster than it is now too. Mel-Syd is the one corridor where a high-speed train is hugely viable and it would reduce airport congestion immeasurably.
Yeah ikr! Really wish we could have bullet trains. But I guess the price wouldn’t be cheaper than flying.
@@RoryDingDoesn't have to be cheaper than flying. Rail in Europe is more expensive than budget flights. People will pay a premium for convenience and comfort.
@@davidfmelbourne3473 I’ve ridden on the French TGV a couple of times it wasn’t expensive at all, on their off peak services the first class is cheaper than or similar to the economy. Europe has a much larger population with cities not far from each other that’s how trains work so well for them.
I would love to see bullet trains do Mel Syd but I think it would be very costly to build the new tracks and I don’t think the line would be profitable in the short run.
@@RoryDing what about something like the tilt train you went on, but to Newcastle. Isn't the ICE in Germany also on old tracks without viaduct?
*AS an Aussie I'm very embarrassed by our train system. especially the high speed rail in other countries we are really lagging behind*
I was going to say that too. I've been on on that train several times in economy or 1st class but not sleeper. The worst aspect is the diesel fumes that permeate most of the train. My worst experience was being nauseous and dizzy from the fumes. Drivers must be extremely careful and drive slowly due to the condition of the tracks mainly in NSW I believe. In 2022 it is disgusting that the two biggest cities in Australia are serviced by forty year old trains and very poor trackwork.
@@Miri2Go I agree. and we need a high speed line from Brisbane to Sydney and on to Melbourne
@@Miri2Go cos who’s gonna take trains when planes will get you there in 1.5hrs and usually cheaper
i understand what your saying but here in europe we are a lot smaller than your vast beautiful country yes in France i'm lucky with the tgv's for example Lille in the north to Marseille on the south coast is "only 1000km's and takes roughly between 4h50 and 6h00 depending the tgv you get .but at what cost ?billions have been spent since the 1980's to get the tgv to most regions in France would the Aussie gouverment spend that much ?
That would be wasting public money. How are we going to fill the carriages? Australia is a large country with small population. I've travelled on the high speed trains in Europe it's always full to capacity.
This was a comprehensive and accurate review, having done the trip several times myself.
However, intending passengers need to be aware of a couple of things.
One is that the reliability of this service has gone downhill in a big way.
It is now a semi-regular occurrence to turn up at either Central station or Southern Cross in Melbourne to find that either the whole journey has been replaced by a bus(!) or that the sleeper car has been replaced by an ordinary sitting car. You can imagine that at that time of night you would have very few options to then plan alternatives.
And you are also right about the poor track quality, not to mention the regular complete shutdowns of the line for so-called trackwork (resulting in the train being replaced by a bus).
To be blunt, the service is not taken seriously by the NSW government, and there is no real will to provide a service that meets the public's expectations in the year 2021.
That said, the on board staff do their best, and must be fed up with this state of affairs.
In summary, by all means give the train a go, but maybe have a plan B on standby.
Thanks for taking the trouble to put up this great little video.
Fuck me that's upsetting. I used to take this train economy to Melbourne when I was a teenager (10-12 years ago)
It's such a shame that it hasn't caught up, would have loved to see a resurgence
I wouldn't be travelling if a bus replaced the train, or I had booked a sleeper and was assigned a sitter. There should be laws against this. I'd certainly be doing a credit card chargeback.
@@dash8brj honestly... the one time I took a bus last minute Melb to Syd was much comfier than the economy trip anyway and you can actually get off the bus on the little stops.
@@frankie5821 if choosing between economy rail and the bus, bus is better. People are constantly talking and so on in economy.
In the hot weather, as above poster mentions sometimes hot weather buckles the tracks in Victoria. I've no idea how this can happen, and as far as I know, doesn't affect the Tilt Train in Qld (rail in Qld is far superior in many other ways too).
Anyway, they then cancel the trains possibly part way into the journey for bus replacement which for 1st class sleeper passengers is a bit of a rip.
@@LegendLength Rubbish. The railways in the UK are very heavily unionised and generally provide a very good service. The tracks standards are much higher and a sleeper would only be replaced by buses in exceptional circumstances.
Fantastic video, I actually just left NSW Trainlink as an employee and I never got this perspective of the XPT Sleeper, I knew I sure as hell wasn’t going to spend that much money for such an outdated service.
The new trains for this route are apparently going to be ready in 2026 but I wouldn’t count on it, the government loves to be late to schedule. Subscribed!
and they wont be "high speed" bc the victorian side from albury basically to eurora is bumping as hell and cant support the outdated trains currently on it
It is great to see it from a passenger's perspective. I've just joined NSW Trainlink as onboard crew and this has given me a whole new perspective and love for the job :)
As someone who catches the XPT from Sydney to Melbourne often I found this video really informative, I’ve never traveled first class or sleeper cabin. I always wondered how different it was. Between the three options .
Thank you for visiting my city of Melbourne!
Fantastic video, you answered every question I've had about that overnight XPT trip
Thank you!!! Glad this video is helpful to you!
I used to catch this train twice a week from Canberra to Sydney for 2 years, good old time memories.
That food is the most depressing part. Thanks for the heads up on it.
Airline food and rail food and ferry service needn’t be terrible. Even the pictures of the Syd-Melb food look disgusting.
The food served on Queenslands Inlander train looked great.
The train travel is great for the younger travellers. I have done the Adelaide to Melbourne many times in my younger days. The joustling and rolling from side to side with my old bones would make the train travel a nightmare today.
But in the contrary, I find most passengers on the XPT, spirit of Queensland, spirit of the outback, the xplorer are older travellers, I reckon younger generation prefer flights, the train is slow, most area doesn’t have mobile reception, there’s no power plugs to charge their devices so unfortunately not many people are interested in train travel these days :(
@@RoryDing Thank you for response. I think older folk board as they are retirees and have plenty of time for slow, expensive travel. Many older Aussies make this their bucket list to see the country this way. Stay safe.
Despite the foibles of train travel between melbourne and Sydney it’s way better than the airports and boarding process which always does my head in.Train so much more relaxed and civilised.
1st class train journey, surprise, welcome back to the 1970's, so slow, so slow and then the condition of the track on the NSW side (2/3rds of the journey) means a really rocky journey, never ending ground based trublance. Nice staff and a cheap ok meal service but no wifi.
I almost feel I’m making the trips with you. Thanks for your reviews. I love train travel. Come stay with me next time you’re in Melbourne. 😋
I felt really excited to be part of the journey, great video thank you.
Thank you, glad you like it 😊
There is nothing 'First Class' about these sad, aging trains. When it comes to rail transport Australia is a joke internationally. Can't believe Central Japan Railway offered to build us a Shinkansen network and our government turned them down. Australia, the land of mediocrity and proud of it! Good video though by the way.
Roughly fourty years since I last did that trip and certainly doesn't seem to have improved much. Check out Rory's Brisbane to Longreach vid as a contrast. Large country, small tax base and cheap air fares just about guarantee limited future investment in Australian rail infastructure. Not that it was ever up to much at its best, certainly not in Victoria. Red Rattlers anyone?
i agree foresight is a problem, but joke is a bit harsh. The East Coast of the USA has many times more the population than the whole of Australia, yet apart from a couple commuter expresses many of the interstate trains use coaches/cars that are pretty old, on the west coast, Amtrak's Coast Starlight recently retired a parlour car from regular service that was built in the1930's. In the UK an island line on the south coast firstly ran ex Underground stock from the 1920's, then replaced them with more ex Underground stock from the 1930's, which were withdrawn this year to be replaced with more ex underground stock, but at least they are totally upgraded to run on battery power. ...Drew ps The Indian Pacific stock is late 1970's!
@@DrewsRailwayWorld well you are nit picking here. We are talking about the 2 major hub cities in the country and it is still operated by these crappy trains. The train network and service in the UK and Europe is miles better than on offer in aust. This XPT train type was retired in the uk already
@@londonexpert9936 I reject nit picking, just making observations. please allow me to respond to issues with your reply. Firstly, yes the NSW XPT is based on the Class 43, originally branded in the UK as HST125, produced between 1975 - 1982. But, from 1976 - 202x still in service. HST's run mainline intercity services between major cities in the UK, as per the latest information, "...the Class 43 (HST) is still in use with Abellio ScotRail, Arriva CrossCountry, Locomotive Services Limited, and Colas Rail. ... e.g. Abellio Scotrail operate 27 HST sets in 2+4, and 2+5 formations". Most sets in use have had refurbishment along with new motive power units, Loco Services run the 'new' Midland Pullman using Class 43 ex EMR sets, Colas runs Network Rail's Class 43 'new' Measurement Train. So not retired, and very much in use across the network for a few more years at least.
Comparisons: Australia v Europe/UK, when comparing with Europe/ UK you also have to take into account population centres and distances between them, e.g. the Eurostar (train sets built 1993 in service) running from London (pop 9.25mil) to Paris (pop. 11mil), a distance of 342kms via the Euro tunnel, time 2hrs 16mins city to city centre (quicker than flying). Clearly you cannot compare. The combined wealth of the two countries (UK & France) is US$5 Trillion v Australia US$1.42 Trillion, the combined London/Paris population approx. 20.25mil v Sydney/ Melbourne 10.5mil, the infrastructure cost, including the Eurotunnel was US$31.8 billion a cost shared across many different groups across the two countries. From Paris regular services can take you across Europe within hours but the distances are relatively small, e.g. Paris to Amsterdam 430kms in 3.5hrs by the Thalys service.
Long distance intrastate trains are problematic, and even more so interstate services. In 2008, a A$25 billion proposal to build a high speed train between Sydney and Melbourne, which at the time was the "government's highest infrastructure priority", is still on the drawing board, why? Simply, it is not viable even when the world is awash with cheap money to borrow. For a more reality based comparison you need look at Amtrak and Via Rail ........they deal with similar distances, although unlike Australia, Amtrak (USA) and Via Rail (Canada) still provide public interstate trains but then their populations are far greater, even so Via Rail get a C$500 (2018) government (taxpayer) subsidy for every ticket sold on the 'Canadian'. I did suggest an affordable upgrade to the XPT service with upgraded and refurbished rolling stock, similar to QR's Brisbane - Cairns service. For better interstate trains we probably need to lobby the Federal Infrastructure/Transport Minister.
Finally, you can certainly make a more equal comparison with Australia's metro/urban railways/trams, they compare very well worldwide, with virtually all major Australian cities/ states investing in urban rail infrastructure with new rolling stock. routes etc. ....Drew
I was going to say the same, embarrassing, the Japanese built there system after world war 2 and maintain it with a train that is full of electronics. We are so far behind it’s hilarious
Thanks for such an objective analysis. I'm a boomer retiree who loves trains. I like to know what I'm in for on a trip: it may be good or bad but informed before the trip makes all the difference, thanks!
And you have the same name as a great Australian runner, lol.
Excellent!!! I have wanted to consider travelling by train to melb so thanks for the upload.
Thank you! Hope it’s helpful
I watch this video everynight upcoming to my XPT trip! Great Video as always!
Thank you for the review - I’ve always wondered what it’s like. Also thank you for airing the announcements- makes me laugh about how we do things in Australia.
Thanks so much for the video. I am traveling from Goulburn to Melbourne next week and sleeping on the train so it was great to see what I should be expecting.
Thank you! I’m glad that you find it helpful 😊
I think they have returned to almost 100% capacity now so you might have to share a cabin with someone if you’re travelling alone
This is a great video. Very informative. Thank you
Well covered. Thanks. You were very kind about our dreadful train service.
Haha thank you
I just try to be objective
Thanks for this review. Checking those old trains and cabins, I would never ever will take this as a travel option.
Not even the Sleeper?
Thanks for your review and I really like how honest you are with your reviews, really look forward to seeing more 👍🏽
What a great video thank you.
As a child living in NZ I took many beautiful trains including the Wellington to Auckland Silver Star which was magnificent but very short lived and have always been interested to know what the XPT was like. Thinking I will stay with my fond memories and simply fly to Melbourne.
Haha that’s fair enough 😂
wow just came across your channel - what a laugh as it brought back so many memories of 2019 - i was living in Cairns and flew down to Brisbane where i hired a car to visit my daughter in Miles - she had recently moved from Longreach so i know that train well - after visiting her i took the train Brisbane to Sydney spent a few days then Sydney to Melbourne to visit my son - I cant wait to start traveling again - thanks enjoyed the filming your narration and content 9/10
Thanks for this review - I really appreciated your opinion without judgement. I would consider this as an option to air travel, and I have taken on board your comments regarding the comfort and other aspects of the journey.
Interesting, but the XPT is about to be replaced by a new Spanish train, which will also replace the Explorer. Hopefully we will get modern facilities, better meals and charging for devices. No word on sleepers, but the way this current NSW government handled inter-urban replacement trains, don't hold your breath.
As for the track, this is a Federal government responsibility under Transport minister and deputy PM Maybelline McCormack. Do not expect any track improvements during the tenure of this minister.
Now I often travel to Melbourne on the XPT, but always take the daylight service. It's good, the food is passable, sometimes fast - up to 160 between Wagga and Albury, but has speed restrictions slow the journey between Albury and Melbourne. I have never known it to be late arriving, but the floods in 2016 meant the return journey was 20 minutes late in Albury, and only 3 minutes late at Central. It was a near run thing!
I’ve caught the XPT for about 10 times 4/10 was slightly delayed 😅 but it was all good
Glad this came up on my TH-cam. Very informative and looks like a good way to travel and see a bit of the countryside. Hoping one day Australia builds high speed trains between capital cities.
Won't happen. Airfares too cheap.
Airfares in Europe is cheaper, and flying to regional Australia is not cheap at all
I think We just don’t have enough population in regional nsw and vic to support a bullet train line
The government has talked about this for 40 years.
@@RoryDing Yep. Maybe not bullet train, something like the KTX in Korea, which still travels at 300 km/h linking Seoul to regional cities like Daegu and Busan. It's a pipe dream of mine as I think it might help rejuvenate regional centers and reduce demand on housing in the capital cities. Imagine it only taking 1.5hrs to travel from Albury to Melbourne :) But I know I'm dreaming hahaha.
Imagine being in emcomy vibvam take it
beautifully made,very informative ,love to see another videos of yours.Thanks for the XPT experience
Thank you! 😊
Lovely train. You were very lucky to get the cabin to your self. And plenty to eat. Very nice.e
LOL I took the train reverse Melbourne to Sydney in the late 1970s. It was a great party night, lots of alcohol and rowdy passengers. I didn't see any mention of alcohol in this video so I guess it's not as much fun these days!
Yeah nah this train doesn’t have a lounge area for ppl to socialise, so it’s hard to have a party these days 😂😂
Great video thanks! Very informative and well produced.
Thank you!
What a great video mate. Really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work. 👍
Thank you 😊
I run the XPT’s over track detonators between Wadonga - Melbourne, love seeing them
Well done on the video, one of the better ones I've seen. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! 😊
Love the XPT I have been on the XPT train before from Melbourne to Sydney and the sleeper cabin Sydney to Melbourne I recommend going on the XPT train from Melbourne to Sydney economy class and first class are the best so are the sleeper cars and buffet cars why better than flying .
Really good to see you doing trains as well as planes
I appreciate that you did not moan about the primitive conditions it was very dignified.
I totally believe you. I'd be very interested to see what the new XPT's would be like, mainly the sleeper. While it will be a while before they become in service (as they haven't even started production yet) I'm very excited to see the new fleet, as the current fleet of XPT's and XPLORERS are aging quite fast.
The “new XPTs” due in a few years, no one knows,,, will have NO sleeping compartments.
The XPT replacement is inferior to the XPT. It is a DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit). So passengers in every car will be seating above a noisy engine. The XPT has a power car at each end and passengers are well insulated from engine noise. The XPT could have been reengineered with modern technology, it's unfortunate NSW has endured a succession of toxic governments intent on running the rail network into the ground.
@@vegantard_5989 DMUs make sense in the UK, where you have short distances between stops and need the acceleration. For an eleven-hour journey it makes far more sense to use loco-hauled stock.
willthatmeenthatitwillseesruingatnighte
Thanks for another great video, Rory. I had just ONE ride on an XPT and it was way back in their beginnings back from Albury to Sydney in 1984 sitting up. It was a part of my 2-week Nurail First Class pass on all NSW trains and I do remember as someone commented in here the diesel fumes permeating the carriage, even when they were a lot newer!
Hi Rory, excellent video. Thanks for sharing. I have taken the XPT train between Sydney and Melbourne several times. However, I have only travelled on the daylight trains. Yes, using the XPT is far better than flying. There is a lot of great scenery to see between the two cities. Currently, masks are mandatory on public transport here in Melbourne also. Anyway, all the very best. Robert.
Nicely done and very informative.
thank you! 😊
Great vids Rory. This is interesting content for a local Australian 👍🇦🇺
Thank you 😊
This is my second dip into your channel and thanks for a great review. I was pleasantly surprised by the refurbishment the XPT has had in recent years as I haven't travelled on it in over a decade. I was very pleased at the standard of on train announcement as the train approached Melbourne, also the chirpy decorum of the catering lady's announcement. Very much an improvement on the standards of years gone by when NSW conductors treated passengers like convicts with their surly announcements and decorum. Now let me see how you liked the Explorer and Spirit of The Outback trains.
Thank you for doing this video. Very well done. 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you 😊
Only watched 1 video, I’m addicted to your channel
Thank you!! Glad you liked my video!!
Very timely! I will be visiting Melbourne in a couple of months and chose to splurge on a train, although not a sleeper, instead of a plane ride. This partly because I've done long-distance train travel before but in other countries, not AU. Plus Southern Cross station is so much more convenient for public transport in Melbourne than Tullamarine Airport. :-)
I have no idea how I ended up on your channel watching your videos, what's even more perplexing is that I am by no means a train or plane buff and yet here I am, 5 videos in and going strong LOL. I have even subscribed :)
Re: Your bed-making skills & the finished product ...compared to XPT Staff made Bed
Dude you smashed it ...... NICE ONE. :)
Thank you for all the compliments 😂😊
Great video, I have been on the XPT Melbourne to Coffs harbour. Just in Economy. Want to do a sleeper next time.
10 out of 10 video
Thank you 😊
Took the train once to MEL. As a train enthusiast, it was a fun journey. It was a daytime run and was boring as hell. My son was 6 so he got agitated pretty often. This video is excellent and balanced. Thank you.
I've done this overnight train. It was horrible in sleeper because the wheels on the track make really screechy noises ALL THE TIME and I couldn't sleep. Done overnight in economy from Sydney to Brisbane too. That was worse than lying awake in sleeper for hours because it involved SITTING awake for hours. I think it's a great service for the country towns along the way that don't have good airports.
As someone from the UK it's interesting to see the XPT, but my word it looks like it hasn't undergone any refurbishment since at least the 1990s. Here in the UK the Intercity 125 trains are being replaced on most routes with much more modern trains, however some have been heavily refurbished and are now being used by Scotrail on some of their routes such from Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen. Most 125 trains have been refurbished several times too since their introduction and those Scotrail are now using have been fully modernised and updated with new seats, new interiors, power plug and USB sockets, electronic doors and WIFI. That Sidney to Melbourne corridor would be perfect for a high speed route if it is that busy too.
This video was so educational ! I loved it...also my hometown is one of the stops along the way...Albury 😊
Nice video! I traveled to Melbourne with the XPT but in economy because I had save money to ride the Farewell C set Tour
This was a very informative vid - thank you
Champion effort mate. I've never travelled to Melvegas in that way so I might give it a try.
I've travelled to Sydney to Melbourne on the xpt, the overnight was fantastic for me because it allowed me spend a longer time in Sydney and I could get off the train and go straight into work. Door to door between Sydney to Melbourne is approximately 5 hrs in reality, this was better option for me. But these seats sell out quickly.
glad i saw this video because i was thinking abt going to mel by train for my summer internship. now I will definitely go by air. this train does not feel like we are in 2022.
Had a powerlifting competition in Melbourne and i decided to catch a train from sydney in economy class. Lets just say i did not sleep and had to walk in the isle to loosen up.
Very well presented video. I was not interested in this video, yet you had me viewing it.
That was a good video. Appreciate the effort gone into making an enjoyable, clear, informative and well thought out video. I have always wanted to try the XPT train but was afraid of being stuck 11 hours in the train if the journey is unpleasant. It does not seem too bad from your video. Thanks!
Thank you 😊
Train travel is meant to be bumpy and shaking and oh that wonderful track noise , epic mate good fun ! Great review
Agreed! That noise and bumpiness doesn’t affect me at all, I wish we could have more overnight long distance trains in Australia!
but I thought it’s important to point it out in the video to those who can’t deal with noise at nighttime
If only we had high speed rail, then I’d consider taking the train to melb. Flight it is for the time being for me. Great video btw!
Yep this is a pretty accurate review of these things. These xpts are well and truly past their use by date and they belong in a railway museum with all the other old and retired trains but here are they nearly 40 years later and they are still trapsing up and down the east coast of Australia. Hopefully come 2023/2025 the state government will replace these ancient things with a new fleet of xpts with all your modern creature comforts like WiFi, on board entertainment and a seat power sockets to charge up your phone/ device but I wouldn't hold my breath though. All and all still a very good video.
Well don't expect anything to be replaced while the pollies go for "carbon neutral" and kill the economy.
Get more people living in country towns and get the economy going again, ie manufacturing... and yes taxes can pay for this.
I'd prefer a cost positive train where it can actually make money though.
The thing that could really get people back on trains is to have a hire car service at either end thus enabling people not to feel transportless.
Or towns that service this have a special bus which will taxi people around the town and while Sydney won't really need a specific one, a courtesy bus around the CBD and North Sydney/Redfern Alexandria would be great.
Encouraging schools to use them too would be good. Excursions/group school trips and/or country students going back to Sydney for the term.
Offer (one)a free ticket to people that pay car registration and hopefully get them to enjoy it so they will come back again. Also their family if needing to travel together will have to be paid for. So it won't be really "free".....
The thing is the XPT is more a gimmick than it is a fast train. There is no railway in Australia that can accommodate speeds of 200kph+.
Because of the convenience of motor vehicles and the seriously amount of huge open land Australia has (unlike Asian countries like Japan where even everyone has a motor vehicle there too and uses them instead of public transport but not always)I doubt people will return to using public transport in country regional trains etc.
And with the recent crash I would suggest that these trains be fully enabled and utilised with a fully implemented safety system. Australia has a long way to go and we need full ATP for high speed trains.
And when it isn't available due to track works or whatever (like signal failures) the speed needs to be reduced to 25kph and if above that the train will be brought to a stop immediately by emergency brake.
Just saying.
The XPT will be replaced by CAF Civity in 2023
Every time I caught this train it was always packed so there’s no issue with filling up the train, in fact they should run more services each day.
And I’m pretty sure most stations are built in the centre of the city/town?
The new railcars built by CAF will be noisier (not quiet like the XPTs) and sadly there will NOT be a sleeper on overnight trains.
I don't like when a train has so many people but since it's double decker and we'll spread out
@@MitchellBPYao
Neither the XPTs nor their replacements are(/will be) double decker.
Only the Intercity services are served by double decker carriages, with these travelling as far as Nowra, Goulburn, Bathurst, and Scone.
Excellent review. Enlightened on all the points I'd want to know about if I were to catch it.
Be aware NSW TrainLink offers great value Discovery Passes. See its website.
I do prefer taking the train as it's more relaxing but sleeping on it for me was impossible and kept worrying I would miss my stop (I was in a sleeper, shared with a stranger). I was going a bit outside Melbourne. The staff do come by to wake you up but didn't give me much time to get ready. I think maybe three minutes before arriving. Luckily I was already awake.
It's good for one person, don't like sharint with others
You need to use an Alarm Clock !
Thanks for posting this. I always wanted to know what it would be like to have a sleeper on those super long train rides, so thanks.
Fantastic video! :)
As someone who has done the Sydney to Melbourne trip numerous time I grew to hate this trip.
I would only use it because it was really cheap for me as a student, $80 each way. The seats are absolutely horrible and if you are doing it I recommend doing a day trip because atleast then you can distract yourself with some nice sights.
If you are travelling overnight you have to use the first class sleeper. But goodluck getting any sleep because the tracks the entire way are rubbish. On several sections of track I nearly got rocked out of my bed.
In the end the 1hr30min flight is way better. Very accurate review!
Bro 100% I did the same on brisbane to Sydney worst 150$ I spent of my life
The tracks are not 'rubbish'. ARTC just spent $235m between Melbourne and Albury ironing out mud holes. Ride has improved, and in NSW it's fine.
@@edmundcarew7235 mate I toured Europe via rail. Our tracks are dogshite.
I have done my train journeys only in India, this seems like heaven. Will surely try it one day. Thank you for the information.
People saying that this is expensive? It's cheaper than the Caledonian Sleeper. I want to go to Australia and I'd love to try this.
If you come here definitely try the sydney to brisbane train or sydney to broken hill (the sydney to melbourne is pretty uneventful, bumpy and has no wifi for most of the way) 👍
I have no trouble falling asleep on trains, I always nap on my way home to Newcastle from Sydney... I'm really proud of my sleeping super power!
If you like watching the world go by; take the train. If you want to get there quickly; take the plane.
I always love arriving in Melbourne or Brisbane on an overnight train.
Thanks for sharing your experience:)
Most informative travel video I have ever seen.
Thank you!!
I'll travel anywhere as long as I know what I'm in for (In for what I am?) Thanks for the very informative presentation. I'll be visiting Sydney (post-Covid lockouts) and am still a train-user.
This costs $470. I think I'll catch a flight
If you factor in its a nights accommodation its not too bad
@@YosheetaBoneeta so true, a comfortable overnight stay in inner Syd costs a fortune. Melb is better but maybe because I know where to go.
🚄🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋🚄
Pretty sure he said $270
Roughly $230 for one so $470 for two
Another great video - just like being there. Thanks. (24.6.21)
Love to see Australia from train..cheers mate
Wow I’m a Melbournian and only travel this once 40 years ago. Thanks for the info.
Haha people say the train between Mel and Syd is terrible but the train is always packed 🤔😂
Hi, new to your channel, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your review, it is informative, and pleasantly presented in an unbiased way. But, I have some observations, from experience air travel delays/cancellations are not uncommon, some economy passengers are crammed in like sardines, so 1.5hrs can seem a lifetime, knees up around you chest, sat next to a person using the loo every 10 minutes, + by air you must allow for non city central locations/ check-in at airports, I admit it's still 6 - 7 hours quicker, however, cost wise, 1st Class Rail Sleeper to be fair must equal Business Class Air (Eco Fare+ $239 upgrade). Anyway, if your in a hurry you wouldn't choose train anyway, infrastructure priority here is generally road rather than rail. We could have an HST/XPT service avg. speed 125mph if existing infrastructure was upgraded/maintained, result, a reasonable journey time of 4.75 - 5.75hrs, UK HST/XPT's have performed at 125mph since 1975 on existing tracks, now mostly retired after 45yrs. All this pales into insignificance when the French TGV has been test run at 574.8kmph, and today Chinese HS 'G" trains, partly developed from imported German (ICE)/ Japanese (Shinkansen) technology, typically travel at 200-350kmph over a 38,000km network!! Big difference is they use dedicated and specifically designed tracks with all new B$$$ infrastructure, imagine Sydney to Melbourne in less than 3hrs, a pipe dream? ...Cheers Drew
Drew what you said is great...however... those very fast European trains that you nominated have pax numbers far exceeding those of Australian trains. If our trains had many 1000s per week (some European trains have 1000s per day!) we could have smooth lines too. Same goes for all our public transport.
We are such a spread out country with many more miles of roads per head of population than pretty much any other country in the world except maybe Russia. It's impossible to get people to where they live by viable public transport.
This is why we drive. It is cheaper in the long run and far easier to stay in the one mode of transport than cvhange two-three times each trip. And we carry so much more in our cars for each trip because again we are so spread out. We can't walk to get shopping done or go to work. We have to drive miles often right across the city to the other side.
And to get to other cities we fly because in the end, it is easier. Most people don't have a day to sit to get where they are going and another day to sit going back the other way. Most Aussies are incapable of sitting for more than a couple hours in anycase.
@@ClissaT HI, thanks, I agree. I have made that very point in another reply in this string when someone argued that Australia had crap trains claiming we should have a Shinkansan type service, as I pointed out that the reason we don't have an HST yet is largely due to population and cost v. returns. Proximity and population, as I have said before, in reference to the long distance service discussion is the reason nothing will happen, if it can't be justified in the Sydney/Melbourne corridor it won''t be justifiable anywhere in Australia. However, intrastate and urban rail is seeing huge investment across the country, in my own backyard here in Perth we are seeing investment in new rolling stock, extended existing lines, new lines, new stations, and new railcars for the country service to Bunbury, etc., all of which are world class so I don't accept the crap train claim.
They are pretty good train
Wow! Your riding an XPT to Melbourne during pandemic!
Both Sydney and Melbourne had zero community cases back in early Dec 😅