Edited 17 May 2013 00:16, 8 years ago, edited by don_dunstan

It's all very unfortunate but not surprising.  The last time I travelled on the Overland would have been after the refurbishment in 2010; 11 hours is just too long to spend on a train and the new fixtures and carpets didn't really improve the overall amenity of the trip much in my opinion.  It was also crowded: There were only four carriages on the time I caught it and yet nearly every seat was occupied.

Flying is still so cheap that only hardcore foaming gunzels, international tourists and retired people with plenty of time can be bothered with the train... If I wanted to visit Adelaide next week a quick search shows I could probably fly for around $100 most times but for as low as $65 early Tuesday with booked luggage; the cheapest GSR Overland fare would be $58.  Even given an average airfare of $100+ each way most people would rather spend the extra and fly, there's no comparison on time.

In my opinion the only thing that could save the service was if they tried to integrate it into the V-line network so it met the needs of the towns along the route.  Unfortunately there really hasn't been much of a serious effort to do this as it was always viewed in Victoria as a completely separate entity to V-line.  Until recently they didn't even bother to include it in V-line timetables... now it really does seem too late, who could be bothered with it running so infrequently?

Edited 17 May 2013 00:00, 8 years ago, edited by don_dunstan

It's all very unfortunate but not surprising.  The last time I travelled on the Overland would have been after the refurbishment in 2010; 11 hours is just too long to spend on a train and the new fixtures and carpets didn't really improve the overall amenity of the trip much in my opinion.  It was also crowded: There were only four carriages on the time I caught it and yet nearly every seat was occupied.

Flying is still so cheap that only hardcore foaming gunzels, international tourists and retired people with plenty of time can be bothered with the train... If I wanted to visit Adelaide next week a quick search shows I could probably fly for around $100 most times but for as low as $65 early Tuesday with booked luggage; the cheapest GSR Overland fare would be $58.  Even given an average airfare of $100+ each way most people would rather spend the extra and fly, there's no comparison on time.

In my opinion the only thing that could save the service was if they tried to integrate it into the V-line network so it met the needs of the towns along the route but there really hasn't been much of a serious effort to do this as it was always viewed in Victoria as a completely separate entity to V-line.  Until recently they didn't even bother to include it in V-line timetables... now it really does seem too late, who could be bothered with it running so infrequently?

Edited 16 May 2013 23:58, 8 years ago, edited by don_dunstan

It's all very unfortunate but not surprising.  The last time I travelled on the Overland would have been after the refurbishment in 2010; 11 hours is just too long to spend on a train and the new fixtures and carpets didn't really improve the overall amenity of the trip much in my opinion.  It was also crowded: There were only four carriages on the time I caught it and yet nearly every seat was occupied.

Flying is still so cheap that only hardcore foaming gunzels, international tourists and retired people with plenty of time can be bothered with the train... If I wanted to visit Adelaide next Tuesday a quick search shows I could probably fly for around $100 most times but for as low as $65 early Tuesday with booked luggage; the cheapest GSR Overland fare would be $58.  Even given an average airfare of $100+ each way most people would rather spend the extra and fly, there's no comparison on time.

In my opinion the only thing that could save the service was if they tried to integrate it into the V-line network so it met the needs of the towns along the route but there really hasn't been much of a serious effort to do this as it was always viewed in Victoria as a completely separate entity to V-line.  Until recently they didn't even bother to include it in V-line timetables... now it really does seem too late, who could be bothered with it running so infrequently?