14 Hours Across Australia by FIRST CLASS Train: The Overland

[@Alexander_Dunn]

Hi Aidan, nice video! Just a little info from a railfan based in Melbourne to help you out. (see timestamp 9:23-9:37): Before I begin, let me introduce rail gauges to you, the rail gauge is the distance between the two rails on a train track. There are multiple different rail gauges in Australia due to our colonial history as in the mid 1800's when railways were first introduced in our country, the different colonies were like rivals and didn't cooperate much so each one used its own rail gauge. Trains that belong to a specific gauge can't run on other gauges because it is physically impossible: the wheels just wouldn't fit! The Adelaide to Melbourne line, called the Western Main Line here in Victoria was originally built on Broad Gauge tracks (1600mm). It followed a direct route via Ballarat. However in 1995 it was rebuilt to Standard Gauge (1435mm) as part of a standardisation to make national freight transport easier, which meant that the Overland which had been running for a very long time by then, also followed. The line was rebuilt with a slightly different route from Ararat to Melbourne, it diverted from the original hilly BG alignment after Ararat to follow a more flat route via Cressy and North Shore. It did this to make it easier for freight trains as they are heavy and are better on flat land. In summary, as a result of the standardisation, The Overland now follows this slower and longer route and V/Line passenger services that go to and from Ararat follow the old Broad Gauge main line via Ballarat because it is faster. Because the line via Ballarat and the line via Cressy are of different gauge, the Overland cannot go via Ballarat. I hope I was able to explain this annoying feature of The Overland, and to anyone else reading this please feel free to ask questions!

[@neilplatten5818]

Hi Aiden, some useless trivia for you. The NR class are a freight loco so have no head end power, which is why the power van is needed. They are a 4000hp loco and have a top speed of 115km/h. Great video!

[@bigman4225]

Neil, NR's do have HEP Mate. It's almost never used as these consists are always built with a PCO.

[@andrewwarcup684]

NR class does not have HEP

[@dazza0485]

Great video of the train, hope you enjoyed it. You seemed a little stressed to get back home quickly in this one. Make sure you take enough time for yourself to relax if you need to. We love ya videos but if you need a break so you’re not rushing between trips away then take it. Ps where was the lavatory review? Is there a shower onboard? All the best!

[@michaelgask]

Makes for an interesting video, if not so great to live through, with those delays and unexpected stays. Thanks mate for putting you up.

[@WayneKline]

Another great video Aidan, well done. Unplanned adventures are always the best.

[@bobhepburn2307]

The first thing you learn about trains in the U.S. is that they are almost always late. But, train travel provides great views of the scenery without the stress of driving.

[@Revilok08]

Great to see you revisit it!! I still remember the first video you made on it along time ago. It’s good to see how much you and the channel have grown!! (Edit) I just realised that you put the link to the original video in the description, I remember watching it so often as I thought it would be a fun way to travel between ADL and MEL. And also, crazy to see the difference in the video quality, come along way, keep it up!!!

[@johncurtain2516]

Thanks for the review .I travelled on The Overland last year . A nice way to finish my trip to Central Australia and Adelaide .Friendly staff , good food , comfortable seats and pleasant scenery . A great way to travel IF you are not in a rush !

[@markusmegatron]

great video....thank you for taking us along! I'm looking forward to your next trip!

[@ryansofly]

Good lord, after returning from 2 back to back trips to Europe complete with train trips... I forget how rickety The Overland is! I do need to re-visit this train service at some point. It seems they've returned to pre-COVID service now with slightly more on offer. Even when I last rode them, drinks were free for Red Premium pax. Lesson learnt, add more padding if you are self connecting. Now you know why I have overnight stays worked into my trips.

[@NSWGR_Studios]

This was on my recommended page and im glad i clicked on it!

[@stephanopapadimitriou4789]

I've never done this trip before on a train. I would normally ride my motorcycle. On Saturday I'm taking the bus it will take around the same amount of time with the bus but it's the cheapest way to get to Melbourne.

[@andydporter5136]

The Overland used to be a night-train and had sleeper cars as well as coach. It also used to go via Ballarat, not Geelong.

[@hazptmedia]

They changed it when it was SG and JBR took over

[@Traveltheme706]

What a great journey im very jealous

[@74_pelicans]

The route has to go by Geelong because of the hills in Ballarat

[@bradmack8953]

Wow, what a trip. Glad you made it home ok. Who is your youtube friend who came to your rescue Aiden, I can't find the link. xx

[@MyAdelaide]

Great video mate. Could I please ask to let us know what seat number you had so I can request the same seat? I appreciate the unobstructed view! Keep up the good work mate. Cheers.

[@wij5368]

Stealing cooper is also happening in Canada!

[@Bendoopus69]

Hey Adrian sorry for the late comment but the reason the N.R class used for the route on journey beyond’s request these trains have no reason to go really fast because pacific national is a freight train company so they don’t need to fast so it is pretty inconvenient that journey beyond has to use pacific nationals trains

[@hazptmedia]

Haha I caught this yesterday

[@mark123655]

Am i rght that the only difference between Red Service and Red Premium is included food and non-alcoholic drinks, plus 2x1 versus 2x2 seating. So you are paying an extra $110-150 for a couple of meals depending on dates and fare levels.

[@arokh72]

The worst thing about this service, IMO, is the timetable. Only 4 days/week in total, 2 in one direction and 2 in the other, is a joke IMO. The days of choice mean you need to spend an expensive weekend night in a hotel in either city, if coming from interstate. This is really the only thing stopping me doing the trip. Edit: I will say allowing only a 2 hour window between a rail service and flight is a little silly. Should have booked overnight in Melbourne in the first place :) If you ever travel Amtrak in the US, expect much longer delays, and plan for them...in some cases, up to 12 hour delays I've heard.

[@74_pelicans]

You can expect a train to arrive on time. And be glad there is any service at all after the lib sa gov tried to stop it

[@JoshTheGamerOfficial]

Oh this is not good, hope u get back on time.

[@jjjddd231]

I can't see this service continuing for much longer. It's only just kept viable by the Victorian government and to a much lesser extent the South Australian government. It's just too slow and the cost is too high for lack lustre service.

[@brucemapperson5509]

You dont drink coffee???? Aren’t you of Italian heritage?

[@julesmarwell8023]

do you realize. You haven't gone ANYWHERE

[@gregorymiller7828]

14hrs by train to travel 800kms, in 2024! What a joke!

[@EA00000]

You the only young person in this train 😂😂😂 this is stupid in 21 century that you have to check in for this travel on this train ! Australia is so backwards if comes to train to Europe !

[@arokh72]

Way to insult an entire nation based on a single review. This is not an ordinary service, it's a luxury/tourist service, hence the check in, as some people do check luggage in as well. Most other services don't require a check in, unless checking in luggage, mainly other intercity services, such as the Sydney to Melbourne XPT. Maybe I should Europe is backward thinking a 3 hours trip is a long distance trip :) Here's a hint, some commuter services here are 3 hour trips, Sydney to Newcastle is one example :)

[@EA00000]

@@arokh72 Firstly this is very far from luxury ! Maybe you should go to Europe to see haw railway is develop ? Express 300 km a hour ! Your intercity train service is 50 years behind Europe ? If you like to see luxury go to Orient Express

[@Brucetiki1]

@@arokh72Journey Beyond try to make The Overland a tourist service but it should be a commuter service. They’ve run it into the ground, and basically run it because of government subsidies. To be honest, it would be better if someone like V/Line operated the service.

[@PeterK153]

@@EA00000Small population, large country. Hence no high speed rail smarty pants. (Doubt you have been to Australia) Most people fly, same as the USA.

[@arokh72]

@@Brucetiki1 agreed 100%. All those services were once govt owned and run, and they were, IMO, better then. Better pricing, and, in the case of the Overland, better services. Once again, privatisation has proven to be worse for public transport and passengers. I wouldn't mind taking the trip on a Vlocity DMU, it'd be no different, IMO, to XPT services here in NSW. I feel that the issue here might be who pays for it, with neither SA or Vic wanting to pay for such a service themselves.