21 hours in Economy - The Inlander Train Townsville to Mount Isa, Queensland Rail

this video was filmed the day after i traveled on the electric toad train from brisbane to rockhampton after having a four hour stopover in rocky i caught the overnight spirit of queensland train and now have just arrived at townsville [Music] the cairns bound spirit of queensland offers great connection time with the inlander the train arrives townsville at 9 38 in the morning the inlander departs at 12 30. when i booked the ticket off the phone the staff at the call center reminded me to pack some food for myself we will find out the reason later so this three hour training time is very useful i was able to have a branch in the city and get ready for the upcoming 21 hour journey hello and welcome to townsville in north queensland i just caught the spirit of queensland train from rockhampton overnight and this afternoon i'm going to catch the inlander trying to mount either 21 hours in economy club seat it's gonna be an interesting trip let's go townsville station is located on the north coast railway line from brisbane to cairns it is also the starting point for the great northern railway to mantissa the station is served by spirit of queensland five times a week and the inlander service twice a week this station was opened in 2003 it replaced the old townsville station on flinders street in order to better accommodate the new diesel tilt train service at that time just like all the other queensland rails long-distance services each passenger traveling on the inlander is allowed to check in one luggage no more than 20 kilos in weight and less than 180 linear centimeters in size check-in opens one hour before departure and closes 30 minutes prior if you don't wish to check in your luggage you can carry one suitcase on board with you the same weight and size limit applies subject to availability any excess luggage can be purchased at 15 per item [Music] customers please note this service will not be available for boarding please wait for a boarding announcement thank you the englander was introduced by queensland rail on the 12th of february 1953 it was the first air conditioned train in queensland replacing the mail train with its wooden carriages and providing a more comfortable service to this dry and dusty region until the end of 2014 the train consisted of sitting cars sleeping cars and a club car where food can be purchased due to the aging carriages the sleepers and club cars were withdrawn from the 1st of january 2015. same as the westlander train the inlander now only has 2 sitting cars a half lounge half staff carriage in the luggage power van the train actually arrived a bit late today boarding only commenced 8 minutes before departure therefore it didn't give me much time to film the carriages here's a quick tour this is car a if you didn't check in your luggage you can leave them here i'll show you my seat in just a second this is car bay each carriage is equipped with a shower at the front and two toilets at the rear [Music] you can see no one is sitting in car b this is because car b is a backup carriage it is only used when there is an air conditioning failure in car a or when car a is fully booked the seats are in a 2-2 configuration there are a total of 48 seats each seat offers a very decent amount of recline as this is now the only travel class on the inlander a good recline is important to ensure a good night of sleep accessibility is limited due to narrow doors and highways on this train a small wheelchair is available for onboard use with staff assistance for more information you can contact queensland rail travels reservation team the toilets on board look like this there's a hand dryer a needle disposal box a bin a sink and hand wash dispenser unfortunately i don't think there's an accessible toilet on this triangle [Music] as the train is about to leave i have to return to my seat for the staff to check my ticket the economy class seats in car a are in a one-two configuration with a total of 36 seats having one less seat in each row the twin seats in car a are divided by two armrests instead of one the aisle is also wider but i think the seat pitch and the seat width are the same as those in car b the windows on this train are rectangular shaped each window seat gets 50 of the window to block the light the carriages adopted window blinds instead of curtains there's only one set of blinds for each window it could easily trigger a blind swar if one person wants the blinds to be down and the other wants them to be up fortunately the person in front of me didn't care about me rolling up the blinds the platform at townsville station is 400 meters long this lens is enough to accommodate approximately two locomotives plus 14 carriages townsville is actually the largest urban center in australia north of sunshine coast with a population of over 160 thousand in 2016 it is more populous than cairns darwin alice springs or broome i'm now filming from the rear of car bay this sweet spot provides a more open view than from my window seat we are currently traveling on the north coast line heading towards brisbane shortly just south of the city a single track will branch off from the north coastline and form the great northern railway however before i was able to show you this exact moment i was told by the staff that passengers are not supposed to be in car b this is disappointing but we gotta follow the rules right hey good to see you studying the safety car that's yep look like we need it but you know always doing the plane too if you don't need today all good thank you today the englander operates twice weekly on the great northern railway from the coastal city of townsville to mount isa in queensland's outback the speed is relatively slow taking 21 hours to complete 977 kilometer journey this line is mainly used by freight trains connecting mount isa mines with support of townsville the line was built in stages with the townsville to charters tower section opened on the 4th of december 1882 it was built to provide easier access to the golden town england from townsville let's have a closer look at the economy class seat the seat in front of me is fully reclined yet there still is sufficient space for me to fully stretch my legs [Music] there's no head rest at the front of the seat but the high back seating and the thicker and softer cushions have made it more comfortable than the spirit of queensland premium economy seats in my opinion there's a large and stable tray table behind each seat when the table is put down the leg space is halved as this is just the beginning of the trip the toilets and the floor are actually quite clean but through a close examination of the tray table and other areas around my seat you can tell the age of these carriages there's a retractable footrest behind the seat since i have long legs i prefer not to use it above each seat there's an individually controlled reading light for you to use at night i gave her the paperwork to say that in the seat pocket you can find a safety booklet and then same guide which updates every 3 months and an output menu there are 2 tv screens at the front of the carriage they were not in use during this 21 hour journey however subject to availability you can borrow a tablet from the staff free of charge i didn't know i could rent one when i was on this train according to the entertainment guide the tablet should offer a good selection of movies and tv shows the entertainment guide also has a few word games that you can play to kill the time [Applause] moving on to the onboard menu since the retirement of the club car in 2015 the inlander doesn't have a kitchen on board anymore instead a complimentary snack pack is provided to your seats at meal times if you feel packaged the onboard menu offers a very limited selection of cold snacks if you compare this menu with the menu on the spirit of queensland you can see how small the inlander menu is [Music] not long after we left townsville lunch was served it includes a sandwich a fruitcake slice and a carton of orange juice the sandwich weighs 207 grams it consists of mayo lettuce chicken and white bread the lettuce seems to be pretty fresh it's actually a delicious probably throughout sandwich journey okay and this evening um you'll get another snack pack for dinner tonight and for those customers that are coming through after the curry in the morning i'm also a fan of the cherry fruit cake slice i purchased one on the electric toa train it costs a dollar fifty on that train the slice tastes like banana bread but of course the main fruit in the slice is cherry i did quite enjoy it [Music] after lunch the staff offered a complimentary tea and coffee service i reckon the total retail price for the sandwich to slice the orange juice and the cup of tea would be around 12 it's nice that queensland rail provides three basic meals for all passengers the food they offered was delicious but as a young adult the portion is a bit small for me i think i'll feel hungry again very soon the carriage before car a is a lounge staff car passengers only get access to half of their carriage there's a tea and coffee station here as the staff is making the tea for us i'll show you later this is what the lounge looks like it's pretty basic same as the west lander the lounge has eight fixed chairs and six fixed tables the other half of the lounge car is a staff rest area which includes several private cabins with a single bed in each cabin the lounge closes at 9 pm and the tour opens at 7 the next morning there's a snack menu attached to the wall a staff call button is placed next to the entrance of the staff cabin but you can only use it in the event of an emergency so if you want to purchase any snack you have to wait until staff to come out from the rest area after having a thorough inspection of the lounge i found two power plugs next to one of the chairs this has certainly added some lies to my 21 hour long journey at least i know i can charge my devices now charges towers is approximately 140 kilometers south west of townsville just like calgoli in western australia the town is built from the huge profits of gold mining [Music] i'm traveling during queensland school holiday car a is pretty full many people used the inlander to travel between townsville and charters towers around 25 percent of the passengers got off at this station as we will be here for 10 minutes i decided to walk to the front of the train to check out the locomotive queensland railways 2800 class diesel lock motives were built locally in townsville between 1995 and 1998 they are the only double-ended diesel electric locomotives have been built for queen slam rail after asking one of the staff i learned that the englander isn't always hauled by the 2800 class it depends on the locomotive that's available in townsville on the day sometimes it could be hauled by the older models such as the 2400 class which looks like this [Music] welcome back to the lunch car this video was filmed two days after i went on the westlander from toronto to brisbane it's interesting to see that due to cobit restrictions i wasn't allowed to make my own tea on this train the staff had to make it for me but on the west lander it was completely self-service the lounge car is a sanctuary on this train i spent most of my afternoon sitting in here it's not only because i get to charge my devices but it is also a lot quieter than sitting car a as the staff discouraged children to come here the seat is very comfortable and i get pretty much unlimited legroom being a transportation nerd i love looking at route maps this lounge features a detailed map of the current queensland rail travels long distance train services approximately 29 hours ago i commenced my trip at the brisbane roma street station in southeast queensland in the next 17 hours at 9 35 in the morning i'll be arriving at the northwestern part of the state it's not cheap to maintain a passenger railway line in australia due to small population and large distance between each town i'm really impressed and i really appreciate that queensland still maintains an extensive passenger railway network to this day it has been a few hours since i had lunch i felt hungry so i purchased some cheese and crackers for 3.50 and a count of coke for three dollars it's good to see that the coke was nice and cold since we departed townsville the track has been mostly parallel to a6 flinders highway the scenery in the past five hours did not change much all i could see were bushes and trees [Music] pensland was established in the 1850s it was a critical rail jeongshin that period the discovery of gold followed by the rise of the timber and cattle industries assisted in maintaining the township's early thriving position today it served as a stopping point for people travelling from mount isa to townsville with an estimated population of around 300. as no one intended to get on or get off the train did not stop dinner was served at 6 15 the food was exactly the same as lunch a chicken sandwich a fruitcake slice and a carton of orange juice same thing as the travel agent told me to bring some extra food to consume on board i came prepared i know the train doesn't have a microwave and i don't think passengers will be able to use the fridge therefore i brought a cup of instant noodles with me i haven't had instant noodles for years because they are inferior and they aren't really tasty but now i feel amazing to be able to have something hot and filling in the middle of the evening very satisfactory let me insert an advertisement here asians make the best instance noodles after dinner the staff offered a fresh packing pair as i just had the greasy and unhealthy noodles the pear is perfect for me to freshen my breath and make me feel healthier is known as dinosaur country the town is situated on the edge of australia's ancient inland sea which existed between 95 and 120 million years ago and left a rich supply of fossils in the area you can find the skeleton of the matarbarosaurus the first entire fossil to be discovered in australia which is currently displayed at the town's flinders discovery center the train will stop here for 10 minutes it's another good opportunity to stretch your legs on the platform around the world yeah used to [Music] which it's like it's a lot of hard work but it's rewarding what some people recognize wait what are you doing good luck with the youtubing oh thank you don't forget to check out the video look what i found it seems like there are power plugs below some seating car a indeed you can find a power plug attached to the night light what a surprise lights will be deemed at 9 15. as the carriage is no longer full i moved to a twin seat hoping to sleep better the window seats on the left hand side of the train seem to be the best at night they are away from the corridors who are less likely to be disturbed by other people walking to the toilet at night it would be really nice if the armrests could be lifted up unfortunately due to the way they are designed these armrests are fixed just like all the other overnight trains the night lights and the emergency exit lights need to be remain on at all times unless you are confident that you can normally fall asleep with a light on when you book the ticket make sure you don't get the first or the last row of the carriage thankfully at the train is not full everyone just moves to their own favorite seats in order to get a good sleep i actually didn't expect myself to be able to sleep well on this train quite the opposite though i fell asleep just before 10 pm and didn't wake up until 5 the next morning i'm not sure if it was because i had been traveling for over 34 hours and my body was just tired but i found these seats to be much more comfortable to sleep in than those economy car seats on a white body aircraft or the premium economy seats on the spirit of queensland these seats are softer wider have much better recline therefore i was able to find a comfortable position and fall asleep easily colon curry has a population of around 2 700. it may seem like a small town is made of nowhere but in fact few places can claim to be as influential in shaping australia as cloncurry this is the birthplace of the royal flying doctor service which is a non-profit organization that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural and remote areas across australia carry is also the destination of the first ever qantas flight on the 2nd of november 1992 from longreach to concurry just for your information qantas is the largest airline in the flat carrier of australia today the population of this town mainly consists of miners as there are 11 working mines in this area good morning i always appreciate a beautiful sunrise when traveling or trying or playing the 21 hour journey now only has three hours left this country is very very old very hot let me show you the shower on this train this is the front section of car b it has a shower and a washroom i guess the separation of shower and washroom allows the person to brush their teeth and the other person to shower at the same time remember car b does have 12 more seats than car a this is the shower there are five hooks to hang your clothes and towel the shower head cannot be taken down but you can slightly adjust its position body wash is provided despite being an old train the water pressure is good and consistent it's probably bigger than the shower in my house [Music] let's check out the showering car a as the washroom and the shower are not separated we get more space in this shower the water pressure is as good as one in carbane the only downside is that there's a small step to get into the shower as a result of that i think i'm a bit too tall to be able to comfortably shower in here [Music] [Music] pretty good actually it's a big holding the outfit a bit cold yeah it gets cold out here absolutely breakfast was served at 7 30 that's 11 hours after dinner so once again make sure you pack some snacks with you for the main you can choose from cornflakes just right or muesli a cup of tea or coffee with a fruit was served shortly after the portion of the breakfast is once again a bit for me technically all i had were three different types of liquids and some cornflakes that aren't even enough to fill my mouth i think providing a muffin or banana bread on top of the cereals would be greatly appreciated the section before we arrive into duchess is very scenic the sun projecting on the hills made the surroundings look really red welcome to the outback the distance between cloncurry and mount either by road is 120 kilometers but by rail is 200. this is due to a detour to duchess there is a complex history on the construction of the railway lines in this area the short answer is the line was firstly extended to duchess in 1912. in 1923 fast silver and lead deposits were discovered at mount isa for the mining company there there was an urgent need to connect rail to the area as duchess is only 87 kilometers away but colon carry is kilometers away to save construction cost instead of having a direct line from klonkari a railway line was extended from dutchess to mantissa in 1929 this 21-hour inlander experience definitely wasn't as bad as i thought it would be the carriage was a bit crowded at the beginning there were 24 people bought in the service in townsville but many gold off at charters towers hu and then and richmond by the time we go to kalonkari there were only nine people on board so it was mostly a peaceful ride the only complaint i could have is a food on board however if you pack something with you it shouldn't be a huge problem there were many staff on board its train but the passengers had the most interaction with one staff she has been working at queensland rail for 27 years she is very chilled easy to approach and i can tell that she really loves her job i think she has greatly enhanced my experience on this service good morning everyone surely this service we arriving at mount isa station where the platform is on the right-hand side in direction and travel the englander provides a crucial railway link which connects many regional towns together i know it is said that the sleeper carriages are no longer available on this service let me bring you some good news on the 16th of june 2021 a one million dollar business case was announced by the state government to investigate replacement of the westlander the spirit of the outback and the inlander services it will probably take another three to five years for the new trains to arrive but it is welcoming to know that these rail services are not going to disappear anytime soon [Music] mount either is an important mining town in queensland its importance is no less than broken hill in new south wales or olympic dam in south australia the extension of the great northern railway to mount either provides a critical link for the town to eastern seaboard it enabled mount either mine to become one of the world's most successful operations that continues to this day thank you so much for watching this video if you find it interesting please don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe to my channel for more trying and flight reviews see you all in my next video

Channel: RoryDing Travels

Views: 45,453

Keywords: Queensland Rail, Indian Pacific, Luxury train travel, train travel in Australia, travel the world, Australia, covid-19, Sydney, Spirit of Queensland, Tilt Train, Inlander, Brisbane, Westlander, Mount Isa, Tonwsville

Id: l97k6Rk8mR8

Length: 28min 0sec (1680 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 06 2021