15/05/2023
The Overland Experience
Yesterday I completed the 2nd leg of my trip with a ride on the Overland from Melbourne to Adelaide. Now run as a twice weekly service by Beyond Journey (operators of the Ghan and Indian Pacific), I boarded as a Red Premium passenger for the 10 hour journey.
I reserved my first impressions - ageing rollingstock with dated interiors weren't a great start - but thankfully both were surpassed by the service.
What surprised, however, was the scenery. I wasn't sure what I expected, perhaps a rudimentary suburban outlook - but it was stunning and worth taking the trip for this alone. Passing through rolling plains of grain & sheep country as you glide past the Grampians, before snaking through the Adelaide Hills before a majestic sunset greeted our descent into Adelaide - it was truly magical.
Red Premium added an in seat service of breakfast & lunch with complementary snacks and drinks. The staff worked constantly to keep two packed carriages of us fed and watered - they did a marvellous job in often challenging conditions.
Our train of 6 cars - baggage/power, 2xRed Premium, Cafe/Dining and 2xStandard Sitters - was hauled by Pacific National loco NR43 and made easy going of the 828km's (515mi) with an average speed of 74km/h (including stops) and a maximum speed recorded of 122km/h. To be honest, I expected a much slower operating speed over these old country lines, but 110-115km/h was the norm meaning we regularly clocked the passing cars & trucks on the local highways and byways. So on that measure alone, this is a serious competitor to car and bus travel over the same journey. The trip from Melbourne to the SA border was "troublesome" - blamed by staff on it being a freight corridor - whilst the SA leg was almost faultless.
Breakfast and lunch were excellent. Meals were freshly prepared on board (aka they weren't just microwave meals) and delivered to your chair - in fact, I have to give immense credit to the attendants who carried each plate, silver service style, whilst traipsing an often unstable floor without (as far as a know) a single plate or item of cutlery.
There are, of course, a host of concerns. The rollingstock is quite old and, I suspect, running on old bogies, resulting in poor ride quality over troublesome track (particularly in Victoria). Whilst not nightmarish, it certainly presented as a challenge for the attendants and many of the elderly on board. The chairs, whilst old, were fine and surprisingly comfortable. What didn't work (and this seemed to be a common issue) was the ar seat table. Mine sat at an angle of about 5 degrees and failed to reach the adjacent prop that would've allowed me to cut breakfast without the table bouncing up and down as I tried. The issue, I suspect, is that the seats are perhaps 1 or 2 inches too narrow (despite there being an acre of room to the adjacent seats) resulting in "seat spread". They could readily be replaced, but it's a minor q**m.
Of greater concern was how service was presented. Rather than having individual car attendants, the crew managed service across the 2 Red Premium cars, meaning there was a constant parade of staff passing your seat, but often unable to attend your needs. So whilst we were well looked after, it came in fits and bursts.
But perhaps the biggest concern came at the end of the trip. With 10-15mins before our arrival at Parklands Terminal, we were advised of two things - first was that there were no toilets at Parklands so it would he advisable to use the toilets on the train before we alighted (cue rush for the toilets). The second advisory was that there was no public transport on-site but they'd rung ahead to ensure taxis were waiting. Both statements turned out to be largely incorrect as Parkland DOES have toilets - they just weren't willing to open the terminal to allow guests to use them and there was a princely sum of 2 cabs waiting on our arrival.
I've often wondered what benefit would come from being one of the younger passengers aboard an Australian train - yesterday I discovered what that was. As I waited for a cab with a trainload of passengers, I managed to reinstall the long unused Uber app, pitched a ride and had a driver turn up within 2-3mins. By the time I departed in my Uber, a total of 0 passengers had left in a cab - including the party of 5 who'd pre-booked 2 cabs and quoted $80 (I paid $11). So by the time I had checked in and was in my room, most of those passengers were still waiting outside in the cold.
Whilst there was at least staff on hand trying their best to make it right, both represent pretty poor end of trip management. At very least, the terminal should've been left open to allow passengers to wait out of the weather whilst taxis slowly made their way to site. Better still, tye SA govt, who benefits significantly from the parade of tourism dollars Beyond Rail brings to the state, could easily add a "during train times" stop at the adjacent platforms.
I'd love to see this return to a more frequent service for the benefit of locals - but it needs new rollingstock first. The thought of it once again providing a motor rail service between the two capitals is too tempting to ignore too.
