Spirit of the Outback

Overview
Service type Passenger train
Predecessor Capricornian
The Midlander
First service November 1993
Current operator(s) Queensland Rail
Ridership 18,216 (2010/11)
Route
Start Brisbane
End Longreach
Distance travelled 1,325 kilometres
Average journey time 26 hours
Service frequency 2 x per week
Line used North Coast
Central West
Spirit of the Outback
Brisbane
Caboolture
Nambour
Cooroy
Gympie
Maryborough West
Bundaberg
Miriam Vale
Gladstone
Mount Larcom
Rockhampton
Duaringa
Dingo
Bluff
Blackwater
Comet
Emerald
Anakie
Willows
Bogantungan
Drummond
Pine Hill
Alpha
Jericho
Barcaldine
Ilfracombe
Longreach

The Spirit of the Outback is a long-distance passenger rail service in Queensland, Australia, operated by Queensland Rail's Traveltrain division.

Route

Debuting in November 1993 by combining the former Capricornian and Midlander trains, this 1,325 km rail journey operates between Brisbane and Longreach. The Spirit of the Outback travels along the east coast of Queensland, from Brisbane to Rockhampton, where it heads west through Blackwater, Emerald and Barcaldine, to Longreach.

The Spirit of the Outback passes coastal landscapes then travelling into the Outback, with mountain ranges, sunburnt plains and historic towns to attractions such as the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and Qantas Founders Outback Museum. The train operates twice weekly. In January 2015, the service will be upgraded with refurbished L series carriages.[1][2] Motorail services will also be withdrawn.[3]

Classes of travel

The Spirit of the Outback has three classes of travel:

  • 'Roomettes' (single-person compartments), with a seat and fold-down bed
  • 'Twinettes' (two-person compartments), with a seat on the bottom that converts into a single bed, with a second fold-down bed above

References

  1. L-Series interior carriage conversion Queensland Government Procurement
  2. "Tenders called for Queensland Rail L series car conversions" Railway Digest September 2014 page 16
  3. Spirit of the Outback Queensland Rail

External links