The Ghan is named after the Afghan cameleers that transported goods to Australia's remote centre prior to the construction of the railway. The sand and heat made the trip entirely unsuited to horses. The cameleers overwhelmingly weren't from Afghanistan, they were just known as Afghans in the Australian vernacular.

The construction of the original Ghan from Adelaide started in 1878, with Oodnadatta reached in 1891 and, after a thirty-year break, Alice Springs in 1926. A separate but unconnected track from Darwin to Katherine in the north was also completed in the same year; this line was closed in 1976.

The original Ghan was twisty, narrow-gauge and built straight through many valleys prone to flash floods that washed away tracks and bridges. A decision was thus made to rebuild nearly all of the line in standard gauge, over 100 km to the west. The new line to Alice Springs opened in 1980, and the remaining 1,420 km (880 mi) section across the continent to Darwin opened in 2004.

A railway connecting Perth to Australia's major eastern cities, funded by the federal government, was one of the carrots dangled before Western Australia to entice them to join the federation in 1901. Surveys for the route of the new railway began in 1907, and construction of the standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway began in 1912, with construction teams working eastward from Kalgoorlie and westward from Port Augusta. Construction of the railway was a monumental task as the sheer remoteness and desolation of the Nullarbor Plain made the logistics very difficult, with teams having to work hundreds of miles away from the nearest towns. Construction teams had to live along the tracks in tent cities, and they were supplied by "Tea and Sugar Trains" carrying water and provisions, while construction material was transported by horses and camels. Moreover, as World War I had broken out in 1914, procuring labour and construction material was difficult. Despite all that, the two teams eventually met at Ooldea on 17th October 1917, marking the completion of the railway line; this spot is marked by the Linking of the Rails Monument, which is visible from on board the Indian Pacific. The first train to run the entire length of this line departed Port Augusta for Kalgoorlie on 22nd October 1917.

Australia's railways had largely been built by the individual colonies prior to federation, with each colony adopting a different gauge; New South Wales adopted standard gauge, while Victoria adopted broad gauge (1,600mm), and Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania adopted narrow gauge (1,067mm). South Australia adopted two gauges; broad gauge in the more populated areas near Adelaide and for the lines connecting to Victoria, and narrow gauge in remote areas in the north. At the time of the railway's completion in 1917, passengers travelling from Sydney to Perth would have had to take a circuitous routing via Albury, Melbourne, Adelaide, Gawler, Terowie, Peterborough, Quorn, Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie, with breaks-of-gauge at Albury, Terowie, Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie.

Journey times would be progressively shortened with the completion of more railway lines that allowed for a more direct routing. The great mining town of Broken Hill was linked by the narrow-gauge railways to Port Pirie (north of Adelaide) in 1888, but was only connected to New South Wales' standard gauge rail network from Sydney in 1927. This new connection meant that passengers could bypass Melbourne and Adelaide, and instead take a more direct routing from Sydney to Peterborough via Broken Hill, which served as the break-of-gauge station. A broad gauge rail connection from Adelaide to Port Pirie was completed in 1937, and the Trans-Australian Railway was extended from Port Augusta to Port Pirie later that same year, leading to Quorn being bypassed and Port Pirie replacing Port Augusta as the break-of-gauge station. You can see some of this history in the Sulphide Street Railway Museum in Broken Hill, at Steamtown in Peterborough, and at the museum in the old station at Port Pirie. The railway line in Port Pirie ran right down the main street of the town.

Subsequently, all of Australia's interstate railway lines were progressively converted to standard gauge. The Perth to Kalgoorlie segment was dual gauged to accommodate both standard and narrow gauge trains in 1968, while the segment from Broken Hill to Port Pirie was converted to standard gauge in 1970, allowing through services between Sydney and Perth for the first time. The first direct train departed Sydney for Perth on 23 February 1970, and it was named the Indian Pacific after the Indian and Pacific Oceans that it connected on each end of the route. The Adelaide-Port Pirie line was converted to standard gauge in 1982, albeit with the junction being shifted eastward from Port Pirie to to Crystal Brook, and the town centre of Port Pirie being bypassed, and the Indian Pacific was re-routed in 1986 to stop at Adelaide on its way between Sydney and Perth.

Some towns along the line enjoyed several services a day during their heyday. The full Sydney to Perth service ran three times a week during its heyday, but today has bee reduced to just one train a week in each direction. Today, however, the irony is that railway buffs can see more of the rail history of the line and the towns along it travelling by car than by train. You can spend a good half day exploring the history of Peterborough and Port Pirie, but passenger trains no longer stop in either of them.

These are not high-speed transcontinental trains. They are slow, laid back and luxurious trains that know how to take their time and let you enjoy the scenery. The trains are privately run by Journey Beyond. The current iteration of both routes was not built for passenger traffic, but rather to serve the very lucrative freight business.

Any way you look at it, The Ghan and the Indian Pacific are expensive. The more economical "Red Service" has been discontinued, and both trains now cater exclusively to the luxury market with an all-sleeper configuration. The lowest class of service is "Gold Service", which has single cabins (shared shower), twin cabins (shower en suite) and includes all meals in the dedicated restaurant car. This will set you back at least $2,115 on The Ghan, and $2,475 on the Indian Pacific in the low season, increasing to $2,845 on the Ghan and $2,835 on the Indian Pacific during the peak season. Add another $2000-4000 on top, and you can get a double-sized "Platinum Service" cabin, which also gets you a quieter dedicated lounge on board, and complimentary transfers from and to your place of accommodation at the start and end of your journey respectively.

If you have a car in Australia, the value proposition can improve slightly, if you take your car with you. On the premium fare there are often deals available to take a car for $99 extra, which you can then offset against the price of renting a car at your destination, or if you drive one way, the prospect of the 3000 km drive home. Taking your car with you is only possible when travelling from Adelaide to Perth and vice versa on the Indian Pacific, and when travelling from Adelaide to Darwin and vice versa on The Ghan. You will need to call Journey Beyond to make arrangements in advance if you want to take your car with you.

You cannot get off and board a few days later at most intermediate stations, as these trains are meant to be luxury rail cruises rather than practical modes of transportation. The exceptions are Adelaide, which is allowed as an intermediate stopping point for passengers on the Indian Pacific, and Alice Springs, which is allowed as an intermediate stopping point for passengers on The Ghan. Both these intermediate stops have to be arranged in advance, and you will need to book each leg separately if you want to stop off.

The Overland (which is also a Journey Beyond train) operates between Adelaide and Melbourne. Unlike the Indian Pacific or The Ghan, The Overland is a day trip and takes 10 hours, and it also stops at more intermediate stations to pick up and let off passengers. As it is subsidised by the Victorian and South Australian state governments, fares tend to be cheaper than for Journey Beyond's other trains.

Sydney and Perth are both served by country rail services that connect to various country towns. Country rail services from Sydney are operated by NSW TrainLink, while those from Perth are operated by TransWA. NSW TrainLink also operates the Melbourne XPT from Sydney to Melbourne via Canberra, as well as the Brisbane XPT from Sydney to Brisbane. From Brisbane, the Gold Coast is easily accessible on the suburban network of Queensland Rail, which also operates the long distance Spirit of Queensland all the way to Cairns.

Australia's pioneers had a grand vision for the railways, to cover a continent, and there are many places where this grand history can be seen. If you are catching the train one way, and travelling by car the other way, you can catch up with some of the interesting railway history you may have missed.

The Oodnadatta Track basically follows the original alignment of the Ghan before it was moved. There are sections of track still in place, and you can walk on large sections of the alignment from the road. The Oodnadatta station looks largely unchanged from when it saw its last train service 40 years ago.

Rail transport in Australia