The Intercapital Daylight (often abbreviated to ICD) was a named passenger train that operated between the cities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, running during the daytime making intermediate stops between Sydney and Albury, but running express between Albury and Melbourne.
On the Victorian side the train was inaugurated as The Daylight on 26 March 1956 by the Victorian Railways on the broad gauge, running thrice weekly, being extended to everyday except Sunday on 25 September the same year, running non stop between Melbourne and Albury. From March 1956 there was a matching thrice-weekly service from Sydney to Albury, meeting the connecting train to Melbourne. It operated in the opposite direction the following day. These trains were known as the Sydney-Melbourne [Melbourne-Sydney] Daylight Express.[1] The average speed on the Victorian side of 53.25 miles per hour (85.70 km/h) made it Australia's fastest train, with a total journey time of 13½ hours between the capitals.[2]
The train entered service on the standard gauge on 16 April 1962 with the New South Wales train extended into Victoria.[2] The Intercapital Daylight usually ran with New South Wales RUB type carriage stock, with train lengths from 7 cars up to 12 or 13, with V/Line Z type carriages also appearing by the late 1980s . The train usually consisted of a powervan, mail / luggage van, dining car, 3 or 3 economy class cars, and 2 or 3 first class carriages.[3]
Initial locomotives used to haul the train included the News South Wales 44 class and the Victorian S class, with X classes appearing from the 1970s.[3] Locomotives were exchanged at Albury until the introduction of though running in 1982,[4] with locomotives used including the Australian National GM class, NSW 422, 442, and 81 classes, Westrail L classes, or V/Line G class.
A motorail facility was available between 1988 and 1990 on the train, usually lightly loaded, and seeing more than one motorail wagon would be rare.[3] The service and quality of food in the buffet was described as "excellent" by a railfan who made a trip on the train in 1986, with both hot meals and take away food available.[3]
By 1990 the Intercapital Daylight was limited to 100 km/h due to the decision to use heavier freight locomotive to haul the train, with the running time becoming 12 hours to Sydney, and 12 hours 45 minutes to Melbourne.[3] Following the deregulation of the Australian airline industry, cut-price air travel decimated the market for intercapital rail travel, with the train once departing Melbourne with only 43 passengers on board, the final run of the train to Sydney being made on Saturday 31 August 1991, with many of the travellers being railfans.[3]