Find out what it's like to travel across the picturesque Blue Mountains on one of Australia's best known passenger trains, the XPT. Short for eXpress Passenger Train, the XPT is celebrating its 40th birthday in 2022.
This video captures the journey between Sydney (Central) and Dubbo on the Central West XPT. I take you on a tour of this iconic train, sample the onboard catering and show you some incredible scenery as we cross the Great Dividing Range, and learn about landmarks along the way.
Compare the first class and economy class seats to help decide whether it's worth paying the extra for first class.
Travelling return between Sydney and Dubbo seven days a week, the XPT is an enjoyable way to see the countryside.
Fares and bookings:
https://transportnsw.info/regionalbo...
Food and drink menu and prices:
https://transportnsw.info/travelinfo...
Train: XPT (eXpress Passenger Train)
Operator: NSW TrainLink
Locomotives: XP power cars
Seat: Car B, Seat 5 (window)
Route: Central (Sydney) Dubbo
Distance: 462km
Travel time: 6 hours 26 minutes (scheduled)
Class: First class
Travel date: 7 August 2022
EQUIPMENT:
Cameras: GoPro Hero 10, GoPro Hero 8, iPhone 12 Pro Max, Panasonic HCVX1
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:46 Central West XPT
04:06 Departing Central and seat tour
05:31 Breakfast options
07:50 Heading to the buffet
09:08 Crew announcement
10:34 Climbing into the Blue Mountains
10:56 The story of the XPT
12:10 Valley Heights to Faulconbridge
13:11 The NSW V set
13:31 Woodford to Katoomba + breakfast
15:21 Hydro Majestic Hotel
16:05 Blue Mountains landslip
17:10 The Zig Zag Railway
18:31 Lithgow including D sets
20:13 Wallerawang Power Station and Rydal
21:43 Tarana
22:41 Toilet tour
23:18 XPT train tour
25:25 Bathurst
27:06 Lunch options
28:22 Newbridge and Blayney
29:36 Millthorpe and Orange
31:56 Lunch and First Class seat recline
33:23 Stuart Town
34:33 Fares and Wellington
35:58 Geurie
36:58 Mindyarra Maintenance Centre and arrival in Dubbo
37:56 Dubbo Railway Station and final thoughts
Music
I use Artlist for high quality, licensed audio. If you sign up using my referral link below, you will get two extra months for free.
https://artlist.io/Adam3542584
Information sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Sou...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_We...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centr...
https://transportnsw.info/regional/re...
Maps:
OpenRailwayMap:
https://www.openrailwaymap.org
Google Maps:
https://maps.google.com/
Population stats:
https://www.abs.gov.au/census/findce...
Blue Mountains rail gradients:
https://railsafe.org.au/__data/assets...
XPT history:
https://www.trms.org.au/rm/rm_2000_fr...
Photo attributions:
Poster: XPT the greatest experience in the country
© State of New South Wales through the State Archives and Records Authority of NSW 2016.
https://search.records.nsw.gov.au/per...
Zig Zag railway
Maksym Kozlenko Maxim75, CC BYSA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Central West Express Zig Zag – Lithgow
https://search.records.nsw.gov.au/per...
© State of New South Wales through the State Archives and Records Authority of NSW 2016.
XPT in snow at Orange
MDRX, CC BYSA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
The Three Sisters:
Adam.J.W.C., CC BYSA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
#XPT #traintravel #australiantrains