Right from my childhood, I have always been fascinated with daytime train journeys, being mesmerised by the ever-changing views through the window and appeased by the crooning lullaby from the train tracks. I had long been wanting our kids to taste this fun by getting them on a long train journey so when we had to travel to Melbourne from Sydney recently, we decided to take the XPT (short for, “Express Passenger Train”) day train instead of driving. This train journey is not to be missed as you will have an opportunity to travel through varied landscapes from city sights to deserted outback views, all that you can enjoy by relaxing comfortably in your cabin without your hands on the steering wheel!
An added advantage of this train journey is that you don’t need to spend a fortune on your flight tickets, which is a sad reality nowadays! The one-way train journey from Sydney to Melbourne during the peak season costed us, a family of 4, slightly less than $350 in first class and an economy ticket would have costed us around $100 further less! What else should I say to convince you to book this train for your next Sydney to Melbourne trip?!
The Sydney to Melbourne XPT service runs twice daily, one during the daytime and the other at night, covering a total of 18 stations. The day train departs Sydney Central Station at 7:40AM and the night train at 8:42PM, both taking approximately 10 hours and 50 minutes, to reach Melbourne Southern Cross Station. Up-to-date information on train timings can be found at Transport for NSW’s website and tickets can be purchased online via this link. Transport for NSW also operates trains twice a day from Melbourne Southern Cross Station to Sydney Central (departing at 8:30AM and 7:50PM), if you’re departing from Melbourne instead of Sydney. Refer to the aforesaid website links for up-to-date timetable as well as tickets.
The following stations are served by the SYD-MEL XPT train:
The following stations are served by the SYD-MEL XPT train:
- Sydney (Central)
- Campbelltown
- Moss Vale
- Goulburn
- Yass Junction
- Harden
- Cootamundra
- Junee
- Wagga Wagga
- The Rock
- Henty
- Culcairn
- Albury
- Wangaratta
- Benalla
- Seymour
- Broadmeadows
- Melbourne (Southern Cross)
The XPT train has three (3) travel classes, viz. Economy Class, First Class and Sleeper Class. While the Economy Class is perfect for budget-friendly travel, First Class is the perfect choice for those who would like to enjoy a little bit more luxury. Then there is the Sleeper Class, which is the best option for overnight travel.
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The Economy Class seats can recline to 28 degrees while the First Class seats can recline all the way back to 40 degrees. First Class seats also come with extra legroom compared to Economy Class seats. Toilets are provided at the end of all Economy and First Class carriages. Sleeper cabin compartments come with a bathroom with shower and toilet that’s shared with the adjacent compartment. Sleeper cabin becomes a First Class Daysitter during the day with each compartment seating 3 passengers.
Following is the baggage allowance based on the class of travel however up-to-date information on baggage allowance as well as what to/not-to bring can be found in Transport for NSW’s website.
- Economy Class
- One piece of hand luggage up to 10kg
- One piece of large luggage no more than 20kg
- First Class and Sleeper Cabin
- One piece of hand luggage up to 10kg
- Up to two pieces of large luggage no more than 20kg per piece
We arrived at the Sydney Central station at 7AM and headed straight to the baggage check-in counter located near Platform #1.
The baggage check-in was smooth and in no time, we were in Platform #2 to board our train. We were allotted seats in the Sleeper cabin, which had been converted into a Daysitter cabin. While the Sleeper cabin seats were very spacious and comfortable throughout the journey, do note that they cannot be reclined unlike the Economy and First Class seats. On the other hand, the Sleeper cabin comes with storage cabinets that aren’t available on the other travel classes; the luggage will need to be stored in the space provided at the front of the carriage for Economy and First Class.
There are no charging points available on any of the carriages so make sure that your mobile devices have full charge or carry a portable power bank. The train doesn’t have WiFi either and the network will be very choppy once you’re outside the city limit so be prepared to face it. The train departed at 7:40AM sharp and announcements about the upcoming stations were made throughout to keep passengers informed. Once we were outside the city limit, the sceneries were spectacular to watch from the train and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.
There are no charging points available on any of the carriages so make sure that your mobile devices have full charge or carry a portable power bank. The train doesn’t have WiFi either and the network will be very choppy once you’re outside the city limit so be prepared to face it. The train departed at 7:40AM sharp and announcements about the upcoming stations were made throughout to keep passengers informed. Once we were outside the city limit, the sceneries were spectacular to watch from the train and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.
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The train has a Buffet car that serves drinks, snacks, and hot and cold meals. More details about the on-board food and drink options can be found here. Announcements about food and drink options available for the day were made for both lunch and dinner that was followed shortly by order taking. The crew then made follow-up announcements when the food was ready so that the passengers could visit the buffet car to pay and collect their food. Overall, the food options were not bad and the food was great as well except that the portions were very small!
The train reached Melbourne Southern Cross Station on time at 6:30PM. Announcement came in to collect our checked baggage from the last carriage and the baggage collection was seamless as well.
Overall, the train journey was very much comfortable, the food was good and the family arrived at Melbourne very relaxed! The most important thing was that the kids thoroughly enjoyed this trip as well, which was obviously the primary objective of this trip!
Overall, the train journey was very much comfortable, the food was good and the family arrived at Melbourne very relaxed! The most important thing was that the kids thoroughly enjoyed this trip as well, which was obviously the primary objective of this trip!
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