SPIRIT OF THE OUTBACK

Acknowledgement of Country 

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Country we traverse. We pay respect to Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge their spiritual connection to the lands and waterways and ask their ancestors to watch over us as we tread lightly on Country.

Head to the Heart of Queensland aboard the Spirit of the Outback

A journey on Spirit of the Outback is a unique way to reach the heart of Queensland. As it snakes through the landscape from Brisbane to Longreach, customers are transported on a 1325-kilometre journey through an ever-changing landscape, revealing the soul of Australia’s legendary Outback. This 26-hour journey captures the essence of adventure and discovery, echoing the stories of the land and its peoples. Whether traversing golden plains or pausing in charming rural towns, the Spirit of the Outback is a rolling narrative of Queensland’s history and natural environment.

The westbound adventure begins at bustling Roma Street station in Brisbane. The Spirit of the Outback follows the same route as the Electric Tilt Train as far as Rockhampton, where it leaves the North Coast Line to head inland. Passing through the Sunshine Coast’s hinterland, through seemingly endless pastureland and over the Drummond Range to historic Longreach, the journey is a feast for the senses. Customers are gently rocked by the sway of the train as the landscape shifts from the urban to the rural to the true Outback, with its red earth and vast skies, with the view from the wide windows framing fresh vistas of ever-changing colours and textures.

Departing Brisbane and Longreach twice-weekly, you can choose to start your westbound journey on a Tuesday evening or Saturday afternoon. Leaving Brisbane on a Tuesday as the sun sets, the hustle, bustle and lights of the city are soon left behind as the train journeys north parallel to the coastline, making several stops throughout the evening and overnight. After boarding, savour a delicious, local-themed three-course dinner including damper in the Tuckerbox Restaurant carriage. The train arrives at Rockhampton – home to Quay Street, the longest National Trust Heritage street in Australia – near dawn. It then heads inland through mountain ranges, sunburnt plains and historic towns to its destination, affording you the unique experience of an Outback sunset on the Tuesday departure. 

The Saturday afternoon departure allows you to soak in the ever-changing landscape of the Sunshine Coast, with its rolling pasturelands, plantations and rich colonial and First Nations history. The train passes through the timber town of Nambour and, as the sun sets, it pulls into Gympie – “the town that saved Queensland” in the Gold Rush era. This service starts its next day at the Sapphire Gemfield town of Anakie, allowing you the entire day to appreciate the Outback before arriving at Longreach in the late afternoon. Through the Spirit of the Outback, the heart of Queensland unfolds slowly, like a cherished book of tales, awaiting to welcome all who are willing to listen.

The Vibe

There is simply nothing like travelling on a train to be able to unwind, relax in the company of your travelling companions, make new friends or just enjoy some “me time” as you sit back and enjoy the panoramic views of the constantly changing landscape. 

As the train ventures deeper into the Outback, gently rocking customers as they enjoy the serene views through broad windows, sunlight bathes the richly coloured wilderness. The Outback’s endless sky seems to intensify every hue of the sun-drenched landscape and paints the carriages with golden light. Each twist and turn brings into view an ever-evolving canvas of pastoral life, cattle stations and rustic homesteads, offering glimpses of a country studded with charming rural towns such as Blackwater, Emerald and Barcaldine and a landscape that speaks of circling spirits and Indigenous dreaming across generations.

As the evening closes in, the mood on board shifts to one of peaceful camaraderie. The corridors fill with the aroma of freshly cooked food wafting from the Tuckerbox Restaurant carriage. Here, sleeper customers can spend quality time with their travelling companions or forge new connections and share stories with their fellow adventurers as they savour a delicious three-course dinner and complimentary drink of their choice. There’s also a small selection of Queensland wines on offer. There’s a deep serenity in watching the setting sun dip below the distant Outback horizon, and seeing stars begin to dot the crisp night canvas as the darkness deepens. Soon, customers will gaze in awe at the vast canopy of the star-studded night sky, a spectacle almost unimaginable to city dwellers.

What You Can Expect

Even though the route is electrified as far as Rockhampton, the Spirit of the Outback is hauled by diesel locomotives. The train comprises eight public carriages: four sleeping carriages with a mixture of single and twin sleepers, the Tuckerbox Restaurant, the Shearers Rest Lounge with a servery window, and two carriages with Economy Seats. You can choose between a sleeper cabin or an Economy Seat. 

Customers in sleeper carriages get exclusive access to the Tuckerbox Restaurant and the Shearers Rest Lounge, have their meals freshly prepared by the onboard chef with fresh Queensland produce, and receive an amenities pack with locally sourced organic toiletries chosen with sustainability in mind. A towel and bed linen are provided. Toilets and showers are at the end of the carriage, but sleepers also have a chair that converts into a bed and a washbasin. Tea and coffee are complimentary for sleeper customers – just ask the onboard team.

Economy Seats are arranged in a one-by-two configuration in one carriage and two-by-two in the other, so single seats may be available if you’re travelling solo. The reclining seats have plenty of legroom and a pull-down footrest, a decent-sized tray table as well as an overhead reading lamp. For a change of scene, Economy customers can order food and refreshments from the servery window throughout the journey to take back to their seat. 

As a licensed venue, customers are not allowed to bring their own alcohol onto the train; instead it must be purchased from the Shearers Rest Lounge servery for Economy Seat customers or from the Tuckerbox Restaurant and Shearers Rest Lounge for sleeping berth customers. Queensland Rail accepts cash and card; bring your physical credit or debit card with you as sometimes the card needs to be inserted into an EFTPOS machine.

History and Fun Facts

The Central Western Railway line extends 863 kilometres west from Rockhampton to Winton. Construction began in 1867 and continued in stages, reaching Emerald in 1879, Longreach in 1892 and Winton in 1928. The Spirit of the Outback began service in 1993, combining the former Capricornian and Midlander trains, but with the service terminating at Longreach. When the Sunlander train was replaced by the Spirit of Queensland and its RailBeds, the Spirit of the Outback became the only sleeper carriage train left in Queensland, and one of the last in Australia.

Blackwater was established on Gangulu lands, which traditionally occupied an estimated 16,000 square kilometres. Although coal was discovered in the area as early as 1845, the town was only established in 1886 and given its name because of the dark colour of the local waterholes. Over time Blackwater became known as Queensland’s coal capital, and coal is still mined and transported by rail to Gladstone and Hay Point. 

The traditional owners of Emerald include the Gayiri people who occupied the area for tens of thousands of years before European colonisation. The town was established in 1879 as a base for the Central Western Railway line and its railway station, which dates from 1900, is made from timber in Federation style. The next stop on the line is Anakie, the oldest town on the Gemfields, whose delightfully quaint railway station was built in 1884. Look out for the 130-year-old bottle tree behind the station, which is engraved with the initials of soldiers on their way to World War I. 

The spectacular winding climb up and over the Drummond Range takes customers 535 metres above sea level on a line that was constructed in 1883. As the train approaches Hannam’s Gap on the top of the range – named after the surveyor who identified the best gap for the railway line – it passes through two S bends within its own length, making for great photo opportunities in daylight hours. In 1999 major track work took place to upgrade the railway line through the Drummond Range, cutting the number of curves from 73 to 37.

Barcaldine is the home of the Tree of Knowledge, which is believed to have been at least 170 years old when it was inexplicably poisoned in 2006. It was the central meeting point for the Shearers’ Strike in 1891 and became a symbol of the struggle that led to the birth of the Australian Labor Party. Although the tree died, it was sent to Brisbane to go through a preservation process, then returned to its original spot in front of the Barcaldine train station where a memorial was built around it in recognition of the town’s significant role in the Australian labour movement. 

Longreach is a popular tourist destination, with east–west streets that are named after water birds and north–south streets after land birds. It lies within the expansive lands of the Iningai people which stretch west of the Great Dividing Range over more than 50,000 square kilometres. The town was one of the founding centres for Qantas – the world’s third-oldest airline – and is now the home of the Qantas Founders Outback Museum. One of the airline’s original hangars, which is still in use, is listed on the Australian National Heritage List. Longreach is also home to the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame – a memorial to the explorers, pioneers and settlers of Outback Australia – that was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Second in 1988.

Accessibility

Overview 

Queensland Rail Travel is committed to providing rail services that are accessible to all customers, and we aim to provide a safe, enjoyable service to all our customers, providing support to customers who may require assistance at any stage of their journey. However, the level of accessibility varies at each station across our long-distance network and on board our trains. The Spirit of the Outback is not accessible to most customers using mobility devices due to the narrow doors, aisle ways and lack of accessible facilities on board.

Queensland Rail Travel provides concession fares for rail travel to a range of concession card holders. Queensland pensioner rail entitlements are available to Queensland residents who hold a Queensland Pensioner Card. These entitlements are also available to Queensland residents who are war widows or widowers with an Australian Government DVA Health Card or partners of a Totally and Permanently Incapacitated or Extreme Disability Adjustment Veteran travel pass holder.

Holders of a valid Australian state or territory senior’s card receive a discount of up to 50% of the full fare on Queensland Rail long-distance services. Queensland veterans with a Totally and Permanently Incapacitated or Extreme Disability Adjustment Veteran travel pass also receive rail travel entitlements. 

We offer a free carer ticket to eligible customers including Companion Card holders (Australian residents), international visitors in possession of a companion/carers card equivalent to the Companion Card and to Queensland pensioner rail entitlement customers with a doctor’s letter. Check the Concession Fares web page for full details. 

At the Station 

The Spirit of the Outback doesn’t have a retractable step and the height between the platform and train entry varies and can be significant. A platform ramp with handrails is available at all stations and the gradient is usually gentle. However, some stations have a larger gap between the platform and the train carriage entrance, meaning the incline can be quite steep. Further information about station facilities is available on our Find your Station web page.

The aluminium ramps are 900 millimetres wide at their widest section, narrowing to 600 millimetres where the ramp rests on the train doorway entrance, which is 610 millimetres wide. The combined weight of you, your mobility device and anyone assisting you to navigate the ramp should not exceed 300 kilograms.

There’s a Customer Assistance Meeting Point at Roma Street Station, Brisbane, located near the top of the stairs and travelator on Platform 10. If you have requested assistance, please make your way to the Customer Assistance Meeting Point at least 30 minutes prior to the departure of your service in preparation for boarding announcements and assistance from the station or onboard team. 

On Board 

The onboard team takes great care to create an inclusive and welcoming environment. Whether it’s in-person support or providing an onboard wheelchair for transferring, every effort is made to accommodate each customer’s unique needs with empathy and efficiency.

The traditional style of rail travel offered aboard the Spirit of the Outback is not accessible to some customers with disabilities due to narrow doors and aisle ways and lack of accessible facilities on board. Toilet facilities can be difficult to access for some customers with disabilities due to the size of the room and inward-opening door. 

Customers who are able to navigate through the train without the use of their mobility device may use the luggage carriage to store their mobility device. The dimensions for a mobility device to be stored in the luggage carriage on the Spirit of the Outback are 750 millimetres wide by 1300 millimetres long. For customers with collapsible mobility devices, they can be stored during travel at the end of their carriage in the luggage rack. 

Corridors vary in width from 430 millimetres in Economy Seat carriages to 540 millimetres in dining carriages and 550 millimetres in the sleeper carriages. Doorways between carriages also vary in width from 440 millimetres into sleeper Carriage D to 560 millimetres for most other doors and 640 millimetres into the Economy Lounge seating area. 

In Carriage D, twin sleepers 11 or 13 can be booked by a customer travelling with an assistance animal which will provide floor space within the cabin to comfortably accommodate an assistance animal. If travelling in an Economy Seat, the front row seats in Carriage G may be booked for customers travelling with an assistance animal.

There is some Braille signage on toilet and shower doors, and high-contrast grab rails at doorways between carriages.

Collapsible, compact wheelchairs (with a weight limit of 100 kilos) are available on all Spirit of the Outback services. Customers who experience difficulty walking are welcome to use these wheelchairs to move around the carriage, but cannot take them between carriages as the doorways are too narrow and the gangway does not allow for it. Customers who have trouble accessing the onboard dining facilities can request food and beverages to be served to their seat. 

For more information about the types of assistance available throughout your travel with us, visit our Assistance Available page.

We look forward to welcoming you on board the Spirit of the Outback soon.