CountryLink is the name given to the train services that runs throughout regional areas in the state of New South Wales, Australia. CountryLink connects Sydney with places that include Dubbo, Broken Hill ,Orange, Griffith, Canberra, Grafton, Casino, Melbourne and Brisbane. CountryLink is owned and operated entirely by the Government of New South Wales.

CountryLink currently operates two types of trains within its system, the XPT and the Xplorer.

The XPT

The main and most popular train is the XPT (Express Passenger Train). The XPT is the fastest passenger train in New South Wales. The train consists of usually four to six carriages in a service and two power cars. The first XPT was introduced into service in 1982. The train was painted with the livery "intercity" on the side of the power car to mark what sort of train it was. In 1992, the XPT went through a transformartion. The entire fleet was renovated, (mainly the paassenger cars) and was repainted with a blue livery. New trains were also developed.

The XPT has also had several other liveries including a special one for the centenary of federation and the 2000 olympic games. The XPT, in 1992, set a new land speed record of 193km/h near Albury. Its maximum speed is 160km/h. The XPT has approximately three routes with a total of five services. The XPT travels thorught western Sydney, The Blue Mountains, Central Tablelands , to Dubbo. There is one service a day and this departs central railway station from 7:10 in the morning and arrives at Dubbo at 13:40. This service then departs Dubbo at 15:44 and arrives back to central at 20:48.

The XPT also travels to Brisbane and Melbourne overnight. The services depart late afternoon from Central and arrive early morning at Brisbane and Melbourne. There is also a daytime service that travels to Melbourne and also a nightime and daytime service that travels from Melbourne to Sydney. The Brisbane XPT also travels back to Sydney during the day and arriving to Sydney late that night. There is no nighttime service to Sydney. Duing the nighttime sevices, CountryLink can offer three types of travel:

1. Economy: Offers the basic amenities such as normal seating, restricted viewing windows.
2. First Class: This class offers tilted chairs, More viewing area and confortable chairs.
3. Sleeper: This class offers your own personal room with a shower, toliet, wardrobe, and two beds that fold down to become seats during the day.

The XPT also travels along the North Coast druing the day but does not continue to Brisbane. Instead, CountryLink runs an early morning XPT service to Casino and a mid afternoon service to Grafton. CountryLink also has an onboard buffet car along with toliets, washrooms and viewing areas. The XPT is still in operation to this day.

The Xplorer

The Xplorer is the second type of train used in the CountryLink system. The Xplorer was first introduced into service in 1992. The first services were designed to travel to Canberra but a northern Tablelands service was created later on. The Canberra Xplorer was only a two car set until it expanded to a three car set due to popularity. The two power cars included a single passenger car. The power cars have passenger seats on them and are usually longer than the middle cars.

Today the Xplorer travels to Canberra (3 car), Armidale/Moree (5 car), Broken Hill (3 car) and Griffith (2 car). As of 2005, there are two services to Canberra a day (one departing in the morning, the other, the evening). This trip takes around 4-5 hours. The Northern Tablelands Xplorer departs Central station around 10:00am each day. This service contains the Armidale Xplorer and the Moree Xplorer. The two trains are attached to each other, with the Armidale Xplorer leading the way. When the two trains reach Werris Creek the trains divide, with the front 3 cars travelling to Tamworth and Armidale, while the other 2 travels to Gunnadeah and Moree. The next morning, the two trains meet up at Werris Creek and attach together again with the Moree Xplorer leading the way back to Sydney and Newcastle.

The other two services are weekly services only. The Griffith Xplorer as first introduced around 2003 with a two car service every Saturday. The Griffith Xplorer is attached to the morning Canberra service and when the train reaches Goulburn, the train divides. The other service is referred to as 'The Broken Hill Outback Xplorer'. This service travels to Broken Hill every Monday with a three car train. This service was created around 2000 when two spare carriages became available. This was due to the electrification of the Kiama line and spare Endeavour cars became Available.

The Endeavour is identical to the Xplorer except for the interior and the exterior doors. The Xplorer has automatic doors except at the front and back where a swing door has been installed instead. This is becasue swing doors are much easier for the guard to open and the automatic doors will only open at a certain speed. However, not all Xplorers have the manual guards doors. The Broken Hill one has the automatic guard doors becasue the train was originally an Endeavour and the manual door could not have been installed. The Xplorer has an onboard buffet on each train.

Routes

There are Currently 10 Different Routes on the Countrylink System

Main Western

• Central
• Strathfield
• Parramatta
• Blacktown
• Penrith
• Katoomba
• Lithgow
• Rydal
• Tarana
• Bathurst
• Blayney
• Orange
• Stuart Town
• Wellington
• Dubbo

Broken Hill

• Central
• Strathfield
• Parramatta
• Penrith
• Katoomba
• Lithgow
• Rydal
• Tarana
• Bathurst
• Blayney
• Orange
• Parkes
• Condobolin
• Euabalong West
• Ivanhoe
• Darnick
• Menindee
• Broken Hill

Canberra

• Central
• Strathfield
• Campbelltown
• Mittagong
• Bowra
• Moss Vale
• Bundanoon
• Goulburn
• Tarago
• Bungendore
• Queanbeyan
• Canberra Station

Melbourne

• Central
• Strathfield
• Campbelltown
• Moss Vale
• Goulburn
• Yass Junction
• Harden
• Cootamundra
• Junee
• Wagga Wagga
• The Rock
• Henty
• Culcairn
• Albury
• Wangaratta
• Benalla
• Melbourne

Griffith

• Central
• Strathfield
• Campbelltown
• Moss Vale
• Goulburn
• Yass Junction
• Harden
• Cootamundra
• Junee
• Coolamon
• Narrandera
• Leeton
• Griffith

Brisbane

• Central
• Strathfield
• Hornsby
• Gosford
• Wyong
• Fassifern
• Broadmeadow
• Maitland
• Dungog
• Taree
• Kendall
• Wauchope
• Kempsey
• Macksville
• Nambucca Heads
• Urunga
• Sawtell
• Coffs Harbour
• Grafton
• Casino
• Kyogle
• Brisbane

Casino

• Central
• Strathfield
• Hornsby
• Gosford
• Wyong
• Fassifern
• Broadmeadow
• Maitland
• Dungog
• Taree
• Kendall
• Wauchope
• Kempsey
• Macksville
• Nambucca Heads
• Urunga
• Sawtell
• Coffs Harbour
• Grafton
• Casino

Grafton

• Central
• Strathfield
• Hornsby
• Gosford
• Wyong
• Fassifern
• Broadmeadow
• Maitland
• Dungog
• Taree
• Kendall
• Wauchope
• Kempsey
• Macksville
• Nambucca Heads
• Urunga
• Sawtell
• Coffs Harbour
• Grafton

Northern Tablelands

• Central
• Strathfield
• Hornsby
• Woy Woy
• Gosford
• Wyong
• Fassifern
• Broadmeadow
• Maitland
• Singleton
• MuswellBrook
• Scone
• Murrurundi
• Willow Tree
• Quirindi
• Werris Creek

To Armidale

• Tamworth
• Kootingal
• Walcha Road
• Uralla
• Armidale

To Moree

• Gunnedah
• Boggabri
• Narrabri
• Bellata
• Moree

External links

• Official website