The Indian Pacific trans-continental railway runs from Perth to Sydney via Kalgoorlie, Adelaide and Broken Hill. It is generally not cheap, but this journey, which takes four days and three nights, is one of the world's great train journeys. The train traverses the longest stretch of straight track of any railway in the world (478km) as it journeys across The Nullarbor.
The Indian Pacific leaves from and arrives at the East Perth terminal, which connects with Perth's suburban rail network as well as the regional bus depot. The city centre is just a 5 min train ride away from the terminal. If you are carrying baggage, it is probably best to jump into a taxi as many of the city's hotels and hostels are located up to a few kilometres away from either of the stations.
International visitors intent on train travel might want to consider purchasing a rail pass for unlimited travel on any of Great Southern Railways' services including the Indian Pacific (Sydney to Perth), The Ghan (Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs) and The Overland (Adelaide-Melbourne). The rail pass entitles you to just a sitting seat on any train for 6 months for $700 ($100 less for students/backpackers). Taking your car with you is also possible between the capital cities and Alice Springs, for an additional fee.
Regular train services (one or two per day, depending upon whether you are travelling during the week or on Saturday/Sunday) are available to and from the regional cites of Kalgoorlie (departing from East Perth) and Bunbury (departing from the central station). The Get out section features more information regarding these regional services...
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Perth
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Perth - updated Apr 2024
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Perth Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
