Queensland is linked by rail to the rest of Australia via a standard gauge railway line that terminates at Roma Street Station in Brisbane. A daily XPT service is operated by NSW Trainlink��between Roma Street Station, Brisbane, and Central Station Sydney. The journey north (Sydney to Brisbane) is a night service (departs Sydney 2.41pm, arrives Brisbane 4.53am); the journey south (Brisbane to Sydney) is a day service (departs Brisbane 5.55am, arrives Sydney 8.12pm). Bus services connect with these services to/from��Byron Bay, Murwillumbah, Surfers Paradise and Beenleigh and other localities in the region.
For travellers wishing to make the journey from Sydney to Brisbane��during daylight hours, an XPT Service operates daily from Sydney (departs 7.11am) to Casino (arrives 6.41pm). A bus services connects from the train terminus (departs 7.08pm) to Byron Bay (arrives 8.24pm), Murwillumbah (arrives 8.56pm), Surfers Paradise (arrives 9.32pm), Beenleigh (arrives 9.54pm) and Roma Street Station, Brisbane (arrives 10.34pm). Coach services from various localities in the region also connect with the Sydney to Casino XPT services.
For travellers wishing to travel from Brisbane to Sydney via the XPT night service from Casino (departs 7.30pm), they can connect with the train via a bus service from Roma Street Station, Brisbane (departs 3.10pm) or Beenleigh (departs 3.45pm).��Coach services from various localities in the region also connect with the Casino to Sydney XPT services.

History of the Service

Introduced to CountryLink service in 1982 the XPT, short for "express passenger train", travels between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Dubbo, Grafton and Casino. Its aerodynamic design and trademark "nose" make a distinctive impression as it cruises through the countryside. Operated by NSW TrainsLink, these trains are based on the highly successful inter City express trains introduced for travel across Britain in the early 1980s.��The XPT power car features a Paxman VP185 12-cylinder, turbo-charged diesel electric engine boasting 1492 kW or 2000 horsepower. There's a power car at each end of the train, one pulling and the other pushing.
Originally in Candy Red,��the trains were repainted in a new blue, turquoise and white livery between 1990 and 1992, with the introduction of the CountryLink brand. In 1992, tenders were called for the provision of additional rollingstock and the refurbishment of existing passenger cars for the introduction of Southern XPT services to Melbourne.
The XPT has recently undergone refurbishment with new seat covers, carpets, curtains and toilets. In addition, a striking new blue livery has been applied.��XPT's and Xplorers are serviced and washed at a special centre in Sydenham where necessary maintenance is carried out. Even the windows are blow-dried on the way through. The service centre recycles rinse water as wash water which is then discharged with other run off through a treatment plant before being used again.

Trains in the XPT fleet are currently used on five routes from Sydney:
Melbourne (1 overnight train in each direction with 1 sleeping car attached, 1 daylight train in each direction - travel time 11 - 11.5 hours)
Brisbane (Daily overnight service from Sydney to Brisbane with sleeping car attached, daily daylight train from Brisbane - travel time ~14 hours)
Dubbo (Once daily each way - daylight service, morning departure from Sydney, 2:10pm departure from Dubbo - travel time 6 hours)
Grafton (Once daily each way - daylight service, designed to service the north coast conveniently including Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour - travel time ~10 hours)
Casino (Daily overnight service from Casino to Sydney with sleeping car attached, daily daylight train from Sydney to Casino - travel time 11 hours - coach connections to Brisbane and the Gold Coast)

The Brisbane Limited

The Brisbane Limited was an Australian passenger train operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between Sydney and Brisbane until February 1990. It originally operated from Sydney via the Main Northern line to Wallangarra. A change of gauge required passengers to change here for a narrow gauge Queensland Railways train to complete the journey to Brisbane.
Following the extension of the North Coast line to Brisbane, in September 1930 it was rerouted shaving six hours off the journey time, even allowing for the need for the train to be taken over the Clarence River by barge pending the completion of the Grafton Bridge. In the early 1950s it began to be worked by diesel locomotives and from January 1960 was hauled by 46 class electric locomotives south of Gosford. Also in 1960 stainless steel sleeping carriages were introduced. It continued to operate without change until withdrawn in February 1990 to be replaced by an XPT service.

Paqcific Coast Motorail

The Gold Coast Motorail was an Australian passenger train operated by the New South Wales Public Transport Commission from April 1973 until February 1990.��It operated from Sydney via the North Coast line to Murwillumbah. It was formed of air-conditioned HUB/RUB sitting carriages along with stainess steel sleepers as well as having a motorail (car carrying facility) facility. In May 1987 it was renamed the Pacific Coast Motorail. In February 1990 it was replaced by the Casino and Brisbane XPT services, with road coach services to the coastal towns of the Gold Coast and Northern New South Wales.