Australia does not have a comprehensive rail system, and with current airfare competition, a train ticket is not necessarily cheaper than flying. Nonetheless, trains can provide comfortable, scenic travel along certain routes. Rail Australia offers a Backtracker Rail Pass (www.railaustralia.com.au/railpasses.php) that includes unlimited travel on CountryLink Xplorer and Xpt trains and coaches (predominately in New South Wales) over consecutive days within a given period (14 days $218, 30 days $251); only open to foreign passport holders. The Austrail Flexi-pass allows you to purchase 15 ($950) or 22 ($1330) traveling days to be used over a six-month period through the Queensland, Countrylink, and Great Southern Railways, but you must present a valid passport and a return airline ticket to prove you’re international. The East Coast Discovery Pass allows unlimited stops in one direction along the Eastern Seaboard within six months (Sydney-Melbourne $130, Sydney-Cairns $410.50, Melbourne-Cairns $500.50; other routes available).
Each state runs its own rail service, and transfers between services may require a bus trip to the next station. Wheelchair access on interstate trains can be poor, as the corridors are often too narrow. Some (but not all) larger stations provide collapsible wheelchairs. The main rail companies are:
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