The lounge car, also known as the “Red Gum Lounge” comes at a small price premium for Red Service pa

The Ghan is one of the world's prime railway journeys. It's a rather epic journey, in fact. The name, The Ghan, is an abbreviated version of the train's previous nickname, The Afghan Express. The name honours Afghan camel drivers who arrived to Australia in the late 19 th century to help find a way to reach Australia's unexplored interior.
And the landscape through which The Ghan travels certainly feels very unexplored. The entire journey onboard The Ghan is an incredible 2,979 kms, taking 48 hours – and crosses the entire excalibur hotel vegas continent from Darwin in the tropical north to Adelaide in South Australia.
Darwin's railway station is not in the city centre (at all), so we got dropped off in an industrial area (the railroad is very much in use for transport of industrial goods as well as passengers) where a small station building has been erected.
Picking up our tickets (we'd reserved in advance) excalibur hotel vegas was easy and we checked in our bags. The Ghan advises passengers to pack only a small "night bag" to carry onboard and check in the rest; and once onboard we understood why: it's a quite cramped excalibur hotel vegas space, in all classes – so make sure you pack wisely and only bring onboard the things you absolutely need.
Getting onboard the train was easy (and quite a refuge in the sweltering midday heat) and we quickly found our seats. We had the cheapest of the cheap seats on this train: so-called Red Service Day/Nighter seats. Arranged in a 2-2 configuration, these seats have a relatively modest recline but are wide and soft. The cabin interior is nothing special at all – but no complaints. At the end of the carriage there are towels, some sheets and access to toilet and shower facilities.
At 1000, bang on time, the huge train started moving. Initially following the main road out of Darwin, the tracks soon took us seemingly away from all civilization. The driver excalibur hotel vegas welcomed us over the PA and explained the highlights of the trip. We were to take a long stop in the township of Katherine along the way, before embarking on the overnight journey into Alice Springs, our destination.
The first hour or so passed with just looking into the bush from the large windows, but soon I started feeling peckish and decided to visit the café and later the lounge car. The "Matilda" café serves "pub grub light" such as pies, pastries and beer – at good prices and good service; but not much in the way of atmosphere.
The lounge car, also known as the "Red Gum Lounge" comes at a small price premium for Red Service passengers but is worth every small penny. Stocked with games, comfortable lounges and a coffee and tea machine, it was a nice and definitely excalibur hotel vegas more upscale experience than our humble Red Service car.
I also visited the better compartments of the train and my professional opinion is this: the Gold Service is nothing special at all; while it's great to be able to lie down and sleep, the considerable price premium is absolutely not worth it. The Ghan is an expensive ride, and the Gold Service does not provide value for money.
However, Platinum excalibur hotel vegas Service is something entirely different; newly refurbished, with ample space, and much better service than offered to us in the cheap seats, Platinum Service is the way RASK Travellers should enjoy this experience. While I was happy with the bargain price I'd gotten for my Day/Nighter Seat, it soon dawned excalibur hotel vegas on me that the Ghan experience is not enjoyed very much in this manner at all
It is important to note that the premium service offered excalibur hotel vegas in Platinum and (to some degree) Gold is vastly superior to the Red Service; the access to the onboard excalibur hotel vegas Queen Adelaide Restaurant being just one such example – but also the luxurious Platinum compartments excalibur hotel vegas and the premium "Outback Explorer Lounge" that make the humble Red Gum lounge (and Red Service in general) seem like a bus station waiting room are examples of this the lesson: don't expect any freebies or luxury in Red Service!
We stopped in Katherine after a few hours on the tracks and got picked excalibur hotel vegas up by a coach to take us either into town or onto a waterfall excursion. The whole Ghan experience being a bit of an afterthought, I thought I might save on the excursion and go into town instead. This was the biggest mistake of my holiday: Katherine is a pretty unsavoury place to visit, to be honest, and the four hours the train was parked here, I spent most of the time in the only remotely nice coffee shop I could find. I do not recommend visiting.
Happily back onboard the train, we started moving ever further into the bush. The train rumbled pleasantly along the tracks, invoking a hypnotising rhythm: you just can't help but relax. excalibur hotel vegas Much to my delight, my neighbouring seat had been vacated in Katherine and I could lie down for the night. Had this not been possible, I would've sorely regretted my Ghan trip as it's still pretty expensive to travel excalibur hotel vegas on this train – and flights from Darwin to Alice are not that expensive anymore due to the arrival of low cost flights in Australia.
Waking up in the early morning, the scenery outside the windows was breathtaking; the sunrise over the red sand was easily the most memorable part of my Ghan experience – unfortunately, after a relatively uncomfortable night in this seat (even with a free seat next to mine), I couldn't help feel a little grumpy.
I appreciated the ability to take a shower onboard the train (there is a shower cubicle available in Red Service) but I just washed my face (towels are provided) and decided to freshen up once we got to Alice Springs. The train pulled into Alice Springs on time, at 0910, and it felt every bit as remote as it should; the sweltering heat enveloped me as I got off the train, and I made it by coach into town for a much needed coffee.
Us RASKs just love travelling by train, and by night train in particular – and the Ghan could clearly have been one of the best train experiences we've ever had. However – and this is as good advice as you're ever going to get from us – make sure that you don't travel in Red Service if you expect a truly memorable journey. Red Service is the much discounted way of travelling and affords backbackers a relatively cheap ride (however, I'd even advise them to take a cheap flight instead and just enjoy the scenery from the air and then from the ground in Alice).
It is also worth noting that while Gold Service is worlds away from Red Service in terms of comfort, Gold is also incredibly overpriced. If you really want to enjoy this experience, and count it among your most memorable, you need to shell out and pay for Platinum Service; this is the "Orient Express", Aussie style – and it hardly gets better than this in the Southern Hemisphere (bar Rovos Rail in South Africa, of course).
Thanks for this information. I m planning my 8th visit to aus and was hoping to take the ghan from darwin and then other transport along the south coast to sydNEY and then to brisbane to stay with a friend.your information was invaluable. tHANKS.