I tested out The Ghan's new gold premium cabins

Australia’s famous outback train has launched a new "premium economy" class. Here's what to expect when you travel on the Ghan's Gold Premium carriages.

As you’re here to read about holidays, I’ll skip the academic treatise and go with a Fantale wrapper-length history of Australia’s most famous train: way back in the mid-19th century, camel trains transporting supplies and led by Afghan cameleers played an essential role in the development of Central Australia.

Then, in the early 20th century, railway construction ramped up and camel power was replaced with steam trains, aka the Afghan Express, and the outback was more quickly and easily in reach. The great Aussie penchant for the nickname soon took hold and The Ghan – rhymes with fan, not Garn like an upper-class Brit would say it – was born.

Fast-forward to 2024 and The Ghan is generally preceded by words like legendary, iconic, bucket-list, storied and other superlatives befitting a brand that’s close to a hundred years old. The 2979km trip between Adelaide and Darwin is a regular on lists of the world’s greatest train journeys, and now the launch of its new gold premium category sees it entering another era. Let’s hop on board and see what it’s all about.

Checking in

Adelaide Parklands Terminal, 3.5km from the CBD and just over 5km from Adelaide airport, is the dedicated station for Journey Beyond’s three rail adventures: The Ghan, the Indian Pacific, which operates between Sydney and Perth, and the Great Southern, from Brisbane to Adelaide.

I arrive two hours before my early-afternoon departure to the buzz of 200 holidaymakers sipping complimentary sparkling wine and listening to live music. The staff, whose enthusiasm plays a big part in the overall experience, are kitted out in true-blue style in RM Williams and Akubras.

The Ghan is nearly 1km long.

Gold premium cabins

The Ghan is nearly a kilometre long and led by a flash Ferrari-red engine. I’m at the back of the train in cabin nine, carriage A, and one of the first guests to experience a new passenger class called gold premium. Similar to premium economy on a plane, it sits between The Ghan’s top tier, known as platinum, and gold double and single, the entry-level price points.

The cabins, bar and dining spaces for gold premium have been created by design supremos Woods Bagot, an international architecture and interiors firm that, in a felicitous origin story, started in Adelaide in 1869, around the time of the cameleers. The designers bring a respect for history, an eye for modernity and a knack for creating beautiful residential and hospitality spaces.

The Ghan's Gold Premium Cabin night-time configuration.

The cabin is simply coloured, with dark timber-veneer walls and doors and creamy upholstery with leather accents on a three-seater banquette. There’s a small, retractable side table, a magazine pocket for bits and bobs, a tiny cupboard with a safe and hanging space for no more than four shirts, and a recess big enough for two pairs of shoes, with carry-on luggage stowed under the lounge; there are two power points and USB ports, including newly installed ones for the guest sleeping on the top bunk. In the evening - or any time you feel like a nap - staff convert the lounge, and the top bunk, which is neatly tucked away during the day, into a very comfortable bed.

The bathroom is an all-in-one affair about twice the size of a phone box. The pristine stainless steel and marble veneer space includes a narrow shelf and small sink, with a shower curtain to draw around the toilet when it’s time to wash.

The ensuite in the Gold Premium cabin.

My favourite feature is the expansive window, which provides a light and sight show to rival a nature doco and is more meditative than a mindfulness app. Over two and half days covering close to 3000km, I keep my blinds open the entire time and see the outback change and, free from the light pollution of the city, gaze at a night sky with what seems like millions of stars.

Other extras include welcome snacks on arrival, and a late-night Baileys, Chivas, or port is delivered to the room; at the end of the carriage is a kitchenette with a L’Or coffee machine, Pickwick tea, and filtered water.

The cabin is comfortable, but it's the views from the window that are the highlight.

As private quarters go, it’s snug and pared-back (no wi-fi, no entertainment screens). This is not a criticism; rather, it’s expectation management – it’s a train, after all, and I’m not a member of the royal family with a whole carriage to myself.

Another note is about the movement of The Ghan, which travels at speeds of between 85 and 115km per hour. It can be a little bumpy at times – again, it’s a train – but that’s all part of the charm.

The Gold Premium Lounge is your go-to destination for morning coffee or an evening night cap.

Drinking and dining

Woods Bagot’s design transformation continues in the gold premium bar and dining carriages. The earthy shades of the Red Centre have been used to create textiles with patterns based on the work of the Indigenous artists Albert Namatjira, Jean Baptiste Apuatimi, and Kathleen Korda.

Added to this nice nods to The Ghan’s 1920s beginnings with subtle Art Deco motifs including a Champagne pressed-metal ceiling and light fittings and glass dividers between the four-person dining tables. The overall look is elegant and restrained, but I wonder if it could’ve had another flourish or two.

The Gold Premium dining car is a silver-service affair.

All meals – a breakfast and a brunch, three two-course lunches and two three-course dinners – plus alcoholic drinks are included in the price. The menu is a fusion of uniquely Australian ingredients with international flavours. Highlights include grilled kangaroo loin, crocodile dumplings and saltwater barramundi, along with ingredients such as saltbush dukkah, Kangaroo Island honey, and Kakadu plum ginger glaze.

The drinks list is similarly Antipodean, with my top sips being the Vasse Felix chardonnay and Barristers Block pinot noir; gin and vodka are from Lost Phoenix distillery, whisky from Cut Hill, and Furphy ale, and Maggie Beer non-alcoholic sparkling chardonnay are also on offer. The barista coffee also gets a tick.

The experience of sitting on a train at a classically set dining table, sipping wine and with silver service is novel and delightful.

A sunrise stop at Marla is a highlight of The Ghan journey.

Off-rail excursions

The majority of The Ghan’s Adelaide to Darwin journey is spent on track. To be exact, the trip is 54 hours in total – 12.15pm Sunday to 5.15pm Tuesday – and only around 12 hours are off the train.

The first stop is to watch the sunrise at Marla, just over 1000km northwest of Adelaide. It feels like the real-life version of the proverbial middle of nowhere, but with big timber picnic tables and benches set up, and two mini bonfires lit to warm us. We stay for around two hours sipping tea, eating egg and bacon rolls and watching the sun emerge on the vast outback horizon. It’s also the first opportunity to see the train in its full glory.

The Simpsons Gap Discovery Walk is among the excursions on offer from The Ghan.

Alice Springs is next on the agenda with walking and coach tours, or a combo of both, on offer to get a general overview of the history, flora, fauna and Indigenous history of the town. Four options are included in the fare, plus two more options with a surcharge.

I go for the Simpsons Gap Discovery Walk, which includes a moderate 5km hike in the West MacDonnell Ranges. A recent and welcome rain has added a lush layer of green to the ochre sand, and a 360-degree view from high ground, followed by a peaceful stroll through colossal ghost gums and the ancient rock formations are potent versions of the Australian outback.

Nitmiluk Gorge is one of the Northern Territory's most breathtaking natural attractions.

The following morning, we stop in Katherine where, due to recent floods, the only available tour is a scenic cruise through the astonishing sandstone walls and waterways of Nitmiluk Gorge. The guide’s encyclopaedic knowledge makes it a rich experience made all the better by spotting a freshwater croc sunbaking on the sand.

The last leg of the journey is only a few hours and it’s when we hit the outskirts of Darwin that I really appreciate the distance we’ve covered and, to borrow a phrase, the beauty and the terror of the wide brown land I’ve just travelled through.

If, like me, you’re not a van lifer, grey nomad or long-haul trucker, The Ghan is for you.

The writer was a guest of Journey Beyond.

Originally published as I tested out The Ghan's new gold premium cabins