Is there an Australian equivalent of a Eurail train pass? Sort of

Ah, the joys of travelling across Europe by rail with a Eurail pass – hopping aboard regional services without need of a separate ticket, and using sleeper trains as a substitute for hotel rooms.

There’s nothing more fun than a rail pass, but Australians may be surprised to learn that it’s possible to travel that way in our own eastern states. Here’s how.

The Xplorer regional train in NSW.Credit: NSW Transport

There’s no doubt NSW has the most diverse network of passenger trains in Australia: reaching four capital cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra) and a variety of regional destinations from the Pacific coast to the outback.

It has a pass to match. NSW TrainLink’s Discovery Pass covers unlimited booked travel to more than 350 destinations and has four choices of duration: 14 days, one month, three months and six months. You can also opt for an economy or premium (first class) version of the pass.

Prices range from $232 for the 14-day economy pass to $550 for the six-month premium pass. There are child passes too, for about half the cost. If you have a premium pass, the supplement to upgrade to a sleeper berth between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane is just $88 a leg, which for cost and novelty beats a pricey city hotel room.

Where could you travel with the Discovery Pass? One interesting itinerary might be a loop through northern NSW: catching trains from Sydney to Armidale, coaches across to Grafton, then trains back down to Sydney. Key stop-offs might include Singleton for Hunter Valley wine tours, Tamworth, Armidale and coastal Urunga for its excellent wetlands boardwalk. Diehard rail enthusiasts could also alight at Werris Creek on the Armidale line, to visit the impressive Australian Railway Monument and Rail Journeys Museum.

An exhibit at the Rail Journeys Museum.

Queensland offers less rich pickings. Queensland Rail does sell two passes covering its network – the Coastal Pass and Explorer Pass – but they’re only available to people resident outside Australia. They can be bought by international visitors on working holiday or student visas, however.

A regional pass available to everyone is the Go SeeQ card, which specifically covers south-east Queensland including Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast. Available as a three-day pass ($79) or five-day pass ($129), Go SeeQ includes all travel over those periods on Translink bus, train, ferry and tram services. An alternative, the Go Explore card, covers travel only in the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast for $10 a day.

There are no rail passes on offer in Victoria, though there is a Myki Explorer pack for $16 which includes Melbourne’s public transport card with a day’s travel credit on it, plus discounts on tourist attractions.

Beyond that, there’s the Regional Fare Cap. Introduced in March 2023, this caps regional travel across the state at the same daily maximum which applies in Melbourne ($10.60 weekdays, $7.20 weekends). You could, for example, book same-day trains from coastal Warrnambool to Swan Hill on the Murray River for a mere tenner. That track distance would exceed 600 kilometres – about as far as London to Edinburgh.

Note that for nearer destinations to Melbourne, including Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong, you need a Myki card (the card costs $6). Beyond that zone, to farther destinations such as Warrnambool, Swan Hill, Albury-Wodonga, and Bairnsdale, paper tickets are required.

See transportnsw.info; queenslandrailtravel.com.au; translink.com.au; ptv.vic.gov.au; vline.com.au