The Ghan

Named for the Afghan cameleers: 2,979 km straight through the Red Centre, completed to Darwin only in 2004.

The Ghan sells silence: hour after hour of saltbush and red sand in which the main event is a wedge-tailed eagle riding the thermals. Journey Beyond breaks the crossing with off-train expeditions (a dawn pause at Marla, the MacDonnell Ranges at Alice Springs, a cruise between the sandstone walls of Nitmiluk Gorge at Katherine) before the light turns tropical and Darwin’s mango humidity rolls in. The consist itself is an outback spectacle, often nudging a kilometre of stainless steel behind twin locomotives.

Along the way

• Flinders Ranges beyond Port Augusta
• Marla sunrise stop
• MacDonnell Ranges at Alice Springs
• Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge cruise
• tropical Top End into Darwin

How this line was checked

• Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 1148765 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within 26 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 6 m from it
• The operator publishes this line's timetable: Journey Beyond — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
• Wikipedia has an article for this line
• See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it

Questions and answers

How long is The Ghan?

The Ghan runs 2,979 km from Adelaide to Darwin.

How long does The Ghan take?

The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 54 h for the 2,979 km. That is an average of 55 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 115 km/h.

Who runs The Ghan?

Journey Beyond, with Expedition sleeper.

How old is The Ghan?

The line has been in service since 2004. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How often does The Ghan run?

1× weekly, 2× in peak season (Jun–Sep).

View on the world railway map →

Read more on Wikipedia ↗