This is the terminal that starts the journey on the Indian Pacific Rail from Adelaide to Sydney…read more Plenty of seating and the staff were very accommodating. There's a gift shop onsite.

We were so excited to go on our first Ghan train trip -- which departed Adelaide from the Parklands…read moreterminal at noon that day. First the check in was pretty painless. We drove up to the front behind one other car and the staff helped With our bags. Then went into the terminal and went to the Gold line. Only one person in front of us checking in. Checkin was done within 8 min or so. The folks had the terminal all fixed up with mimosas, coffee and tea, cookies a few sweets and live music. There was plenty of seating for waiting passengers and a small gift shop with Ghan items such as tea towels, t shirts, wallets, magnets and more. The train pulled up about 30 min before we got on. The steward assigned to our car greeted us and helped us put our carry on luggage in our sleeper car. I love that they had the welcome aboard mural so u can take a picture with the train before you get on. It has some beautiful colors in it. All-in-all it was a well designed and comfortable terminal to wait to board the train. Good job!

I'm certainly glad that they kept the building when they decided to sink the railway line. However,…read moreit is no longer the station that I knew, and occasionally visited. The station itself is, well, like most other stations in Adelaide, and that is basically a couple of platforms with shelters, though since the tracks have been sunk it means that the accessibility is better, and you don't have to cross the railway lines directly to get to the other side. However, as mentioned, the thing that I particularly liked about this station is that the building is still there.

I'm going to have to suggest that this is a typical Adelaide railway station, but then again you…read morecould easily walk into the city from here. Well, sort of, the train is still much quicker, that is if the train stops here when it happens to pass by. Anyway, like a lot of stations in Adelaide, this place is basically a platform with a rather small shelter, and a display that tells you when the next train is about to arrive. Honestly, if you miss one, it's probably quicker to walk.

As the first reviewer noted, The Overland is in danger of having its funding cut. I heard from…read moreresidents on the train that funding is guaranteed only through the end of December 2019. I went from Melbourne to Adelaide and paid extra for Red Premium. It was a good deal at about $113 at the current exchange rate from AUD to US dollars. I checked my bag at the general bag drop at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne. My bag was small so I could have also brought in on board. A few steps away was the entrance to Track 2. Staff were on to check me in and let me know my car and seat number, and when boarding would begin. There are seats on the platform. There are also vending machines and restaurants, but if you are Red Premium, you don't need anything. They keep bringing you food. (More on that momentarily.) There's a small step up into the cars. In Red Premium, the configuration is 2 x 1. I made reservations well in advance. I requested a window seat since I really wanted to sightsee, and a seat near the restroom, which was safer for me. Less chance to fall or knock into others. They gave me a great single seat in the row nearest the restroom. I could hold onto seat handles and railings to reach the restroom, which is large and has railings. If you use a wheelchair, notify them in advance so they have the ramp ready and space for your chair. But the door isn't huge, so a wide chair or scooter probably wouldn't fit. Contact them for sure. The aisles in Red Premium are wide and there's lots of rooms between seats, even when the person in front reclines. Seats can flip around if you have a group or family and want to be face-to-face. There's an overhead rack and space around your feet and a little ledge by the window. The windows are big with adjustable shades you may need when the sun hits you in the eyes. Now, the windows and shades take in two rows of seats. Before pulling the shade all the way down, please check with your neighbor. They may really want to watch. I would have been really upset if the shade was down; I came specifically to look outside. If you want to sleep, I suggest carrying an eye mask. The trip is around 10 hours, but may take more or less time. My trip took nearly an extra hour because we had to slow down several times and had to stop completely at one point when there were signal malfunctions. I actually enjoyed it. I watched the butterflies flit about in the bushes and flowers. If you are on a tight schedule, this is not the way to go. If you get bored looking at farmland, ranchland, and cattle and sheep and horses and llamas and kangaroos and wild animals, bring a lot of reading material, or consider flying. These are mostly what you will see, accentuated with little bits of city views (much of it industrial) at the bookends of Melbourne and Adelaide. I went on the second day of spring when there were magnificent yellow fields of canola flowers interspersed amongst green crops and grazing land. Springtime is lambing time, so there were many small marshmallows amongst the bigger puffballs. There were a lot of twins ("twinnies") and I even saw several triplets. There were some calves, too. I've noticed that kangaroos (I saw some joeys, too) tended to be spotted closer to urban areas, about an hour or two out. The same was true on this trip. Some residents are not too keen on them because of the dangers. In parts of the US we are concerned about hitting deer; here, it's kangaroos. There is a cafe car. You can buy food and drink here, or it's free if you are Red Premium (except alcohol, which costs extra). You can bring your own food. But as I mentioned earlier, with Red Premium, they bring you so much food. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available. It's best to specify your special needs in advance. We chose from three breakfasts. I had a spinach and feta omelette, bacon, toast, and baked beans. Soon after came morning tea with a choice of drinks and a cookie. For lunch I chose a fancy ham sandwich, which came with a cucumber, tomato, and red onion salad. But they weren't done. Out came a walnut shortbread tart topped with clotted cream for dessert. About an hour outside of Adelaide there was afternoon tea with drinks and a sweet or cheese and crackers.

Okay, the only train that I've been on operated by this company is the Overland, the train that…read moretravels between Adelaide and Melbourne, so unfortunately I can't say much about their big ticket trains such as the Indian Pacific and the Ghan. The other thing is that I understand that the Overland may not be running for much longer, which is even a bigger shame, but then again I tend to fly most places these days, unless of course I want to take some time out while travelling. The train is pretty old mind you, but it was still quite nice, and air-conditioned. The staff were also pretty friendly, and they give you a story of all the towns that you stop at. Unfortunately you can't get off the train at the towns, unless you are actually departing. They do have a dining car, which also has wall sockets so you can plug your laptop in, though you do need to order something to use them. Unfortunately the seat I had didn't have power sockets, so one my battery went flat I ended up having to restort to the dinning car and endless cups of coffee. Still, it was fun, especially if you want to take your time getting to Adelaide.