The Indian Pacific: From
Sydney to
Perth (4352km). The journey goes via
Broken Hill,
Adelaide (as a spur) and across the
Nullabor Plain, where it travels on the longest straight stretch of rail in the world. The journey takes around three nights and four days.
The Queenslander: From Brisbane to Cairns (1681km).
The Ghan: From Adelaide to Darwin (1560km). The northern half to Darwin from Alice Springs was only finished in 2003.
Spirit of Outback: From Brisbane to Longreach (1326km), right into the unpopulated centre of Queensland.
The Overland: From Melbourne to Adelaide (774km). The Overland started in 1998 and is Australia's oldest interstate train service.
The Prospector: From Perth to Kalgoorlie (659km), using the same track as the Indian Pacific.
Spirit of Capricorn: From Brisbane to Rockhampton (639km), using the same track as The Queenslander.
Xplorer: From Sydney to Canberra (about 300km)
The Australind: From Perth to Bunbury (184km).
The Gulflander: From Normanton to Croydon (152km). Unconnected to the rest of the national train line it is at the apse of the Gulf of Carpenteria (largely unpopulated by anything not reptillian). The tracks were laid in the 1880s when some misguided visionaries were convinced this would be where Australians would want to settle. Now it is more a novelty heritage attraction.
Kuranda:From Cairns to Kuranda (33km), the site of a nature reserve and rainforst.
There are also the XPT services, Australia's answer to the TGV or Shinkansen which rarely goes faster than 160km/hr. The XPT, run by Countrylink, conduct train services from Sydney to Melbourne (960km), Brisbane (1075km), Dubbo, Murwillumbah and Grafton.
There are suburban railway services in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Wollongong and Newcastle are also served through Sydney's MetroRail network. Trams run in Melbourne and Adelaide, and light rail is featured in Sydney.