Australia Rail

Sydney (Central) - Melbourne (Southern Cross)

Countrylinks Melbourne XPT train runs twice each day from Sydney Central station to Melbourne Southern Cross station. The journey takes about ten and a half hours. There is a day train that departs Sydney at 7:45am in the morning and arrives Melbourne at 6:55pm in the evening, and there is a night train that departs Sydney at 8:40pm in the evening and arrives in Melbourne at 7:35am early the following morning. You can also board these trains at Strathfield or Campbelltown station in Sydneys suburbs, or at one of many other stations along the way. In Summer, the day train runs to a slightly altered schedule - so check the online timetables carefully.

Daily

• 07:42 - 18:55 : 11hr 14mins
• 20:40 - 07:35 (Next Day) : 10hr 55mins

Fares

• Economy : A$91.18
• First Class : A$128.30
• Sleeper : A$216.30

The sleepers are twinette in style(berth dimensions: 1,850 millimetres 720 millimetres), with bed linen, towels and toiletries provided.

Complimentary breakfast is available for sleeper passengers and share toilet and shower facilities are located between compartments. Each compartment also has a 240-volt power outlet for shavers. Call buttons are provided and a passenger attendant is on call through the night.

Sleeping berths are only available to first class passengers, cost an additional $88.00 per person and must be booked when you make your reservation.

Sydney to Canberra

Countrylinks Canberra Xplorer train runs twice each day from Sydney Central station to Canberra station.

The journey takes a little over four hours.

• On Mondays to Saturdays there is a train that departs Sydney at 6:58am in the early morning and arrives in Canberra at 11:21am.
• On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, there is another train that departs Sydney around midday at 12:10pm and arrives in Canberra mid afternoon at 4:29pm,
• On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays there is a train that departs Sydney at 6:15pm in the evening and arrives in Canberra at 10:31pm late in the evening.

You can also board these trains at Strathfield or Campbelltown station in Sydneys suburbs, or at one of a few other stations along the way.

Fare : A$39.54

Time-Table

Canberra to Melbourne

You can travel from Canberra to Melbourne all the way by train - but it’s a bit longer than the co-ordinated bus/train services.

• On Mondays to Saturdays, you can catch the Countrylink Canberra Xplorer train from Canberra station to Goulburn.
• This departs earliy in the morning and takes a little over an hour and a half to reach Goulburn.
• After a one and a half to two hour wait you then catch the Sydney to Melbourne XPT train for the journey to Melbourne. You then travel through the day to arrive in Melbourne late that evening.
• You can also do this trip by travelling overnight - departing Canberra at 5pm on Tue, Thu, Sat or Sunday and having about a 5 hour layover in Goulburn before travelling overnight to arrive in Melbourne early the next morning.

Whilst you can travel all the way from Canberra to Melbourne by train (via Goulburn), the most direct routes are co-ordinated bus/train connecting services operated by Countrylink and V/Line.

• Countrylink offer a daily daytime journey by bus from Canberra to Cootamundra - picking up at Canberra Railway Station and at Canberra Jolimont bus terminal, then travelling to Cootamundra.
• The bus leaves in the mid morning every day of the year.
• In the early afternoon, you arrive at Cootamundra railway station, and board the Melbourne XPT train service for the afternoon journey to Melbourne Southern Cross station where you arrive in the early evening.
• This is a connecting service so you don’t need to worry if the bus is running late, and you can book one ticket for the full Canberra to Melbourne journey.

Queanbeyan to Cootamundra : Time Table

Source : Rail Maps

Other links:
http://www.131500.com.au/
http://www.seat61.com/Australia.htm
http://www.internationalrail.com/australia.aspx
http://www.railaustralia.com.au/explorer.php
http://passes.railaustralia.com.au/
http://www.statravel.com.sg/rail-australia.htm
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1425997