Great Southern Rail
65 reviews · Statistics
Reviews
No refunds, no transfers.
I bought a ticket for my wife and mother in-law for Sydney to Perth. Unfortunately my mother in-law injured her leg 24 hours before departure and required surgery. I contacted Journey Beyond to either reschedule or transfer the tickets to friends. I was informed that no reschedule is possible, the tickets are non refundable and they cannot be transferred. This policy looks to be intentionally profiting of emergency cancellations.
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Indian Pacific Perth to Sydney
Long awaited for trip. Fascinated by the ever changing scenery. Staff were excellent, couldn’t do enough for you. Food amazing, Track was very rough between Broken Hill and Blue Mountains. Off train excursions were good, touring Kalgoorlie in the dark was interesting, even if to just get fresh air. As a non drinker, I didn’t really use the lounge as it was full of drunks.
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WORST TRAIN TRIP EVER IN MY LIFE
CRAMPED,CHLOSTROPHOBIC, Just a very expensive for lousy conditions
May 2023 • Couples
this was a bucket list item and WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE.
Our cabin.......Gold CLASS, oh boy, im 6'1 and about 106kgs and the wife is 5'4 and you cannot fit 2 people in it standing up. There are NO draws for clothes, A space for 2 hanging BLOUSES OR SHIRTS, no room for make-up, personal efffects etc.
When the couch is set up you sit, when they make your bed you lay down and that could be form 5pm onwards, and you cannot sit on the bottom bunk as your body is to big
A disappointing trip
Having travelled several times on both the Indian pacific and the Ghan, and being a train lover loved them, but… our last trip done in April was a shocker. We would never again spend our money on this trip, nor would we recommend it to anyone, unless some mayor changes are made.
The staff were not happy and didn’t seem to want to be there. Clearly they had no idea what was going on and we were given conflicting information. A senior member of staff had no idea which way we were travelling when asked by a guest could he look at the engine’s. Li
... Read moreke we were all told, we were being hauled by two locomotives, different train to the one we were on!! The train has not been cleaned for so long it resembles a goods train. If even an attempt at cleaning the outside windows were made, it wouldn’t have been so bad. It was not possible to take photos out the windows and if the sun hit them we just closed the blinds as viewing was not possible. The cabin walls had broken panels and very bad scratches. Repeated attempts to have a bed head fixed to stop pillows falling to the floor were ignored. The Off Train experience’s were “non existent”, other than the stupid late hour Kalgoorlie experience there were none. The excuse being the train was running late. The Rawlinna experience was to be a breakfast sunrise stop. Nope, even the staff had any idea of what was happening. We were eventually told in the morning a brunch would be served between 10.00am and 1.00pm. So no breakfast until then and then no more food until 7.00pm. The staff eventually brought out cheese and biscuits in the lounge at 5.00 after guests complained. We sat at Cook for over 3 hours, being told they, had to refill with water, the relief driver was missing, another train was blocking our departure. All different stories from different staff.
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Indian Pacific debacle
DO NOT waste your money or time with this lot. Total disaster starting 9/4/23. Train left Perth late due to rail works then a derailment somewhere. This lot of incompetent cowboys idea of a “plan B' was to screw the passengers in order to get the train into Sydney in time for the next lot of gullible victims. Train left Perth then returned that night to a marshaling yard, stuck in a compartment with a noisy compressor directly underneath, fantastic. Finally left Perth for the “highlight” of this debacle, 45 minutes at Kalgoorlie to look at a h
... Read moreole in the ground, from then on it was downhill. No more “off train experiences”, a stop in the yards in Adelaide for food. Oh, didn't I mention they ran out of this stuff and put us on a diet hardly suitable for your average rabbit. Express through to Sydney? No. Got kicked off the train halfway between Blayney and Orange and stuck into a bus for three hours plus one hours stop for the bus drivers break. Arrived at Central station after 11pm an finally made it to bed at 1 am. Had a miserly offer of a $150 refund. but wait, the person sitting next to us, when at Katoomba, was offered $450! Have not heard a thing since. Meant to be the trip of a lifetime, memorable for all the wrong reasons, cost thousand of dollars and, obviously the operators don't give a rats. Not unexpected, it's owned by Americans, only interested in money and waging war.. The trains staff were great but deeply embarrassed, they were the lambs to the slaughter, management, or what passed for management, got off Scot free.
Lost the magic.
We returned to the Ghan for a Darwin to Adelaide trip. We had previously been on the Indian Pacific in 2022 and the Adelaide to Darwin Ghan in 2016. There was a marked decrease in the quality of our latest trip. Food, wine and bar service on the earlier trips was exceptional but was a bit of a shambles on our latest journey. Wine orders were slowly delivered to tables long after dishes had arrived. Meals were very small portions and just not at the previous flawless standard. For the money spent I expected properly poached eggs not inedible har
... Read mored bullets. The lovely buffalo curry had four tiny bits of meat in sauce. Vegetarian options were especially small and lacking in protein. Staff were lovely but clearly lacked experience and the off train experiences were poorly executed. Bar service which used to be generous and quick was parsimonious, disorganised and slow. I’m glad I did the two earlier trips and experienced six star luxury travel. I could only rate the last trip a generous three.
Disappointing Ghan
We were on the GHAN March 8-10 with a changed itinerary due to the flooding in Katherine. Airport arrival in Alice was chaotic, 30 staff members giving conflicting instruction for luggage, meals and excursions. Off train lunch at the Crown Place, a very minimal cold buffet. Arrived at the train at 6:30 pm, dinner at 7:15, not much time to get settled in ! Only the view of old Alice railyard for dinner.
Coober Pedy replaced Katherine. Unfortunately it was a 7.5 hr tour with lunch again not on board at the GREEK HALL, was not edible, no coffe
one of the best 3 days I have spent.
service was fantastic, staff were fantastic, excursions were fantastic, food and drink onboard fantastic.
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How many bad reviews do you need before something changes !
So many downsides about this trip:
- shocking lack of organisation on the train. e.g. telling us to be out of bed, packed and in the lounge by 6am then saying, oh we made a mistake; nothing is happening before 7.30am.
-falling to tell customers that they cannot fit a suitcase in their cabin and should just bring a small bag
- the Gold Class single cabins are SO tiny!
- their ads and paperwork say it is ‘extremely luxurious’. NO aspect of Gold Class is remotely luxurious. It’s more of a 3-star level
- there is nowhere to hang the bath towel
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Unethical company that lacks empathy and good customer service
This company is deceiving customers through employing misleading advertising in relation to the management of COVID.
Company's website advises that "Guests with any symptoms of illness (COVID) prior to travel will be requested not to travel." This is a very clear and unambiguous instruction - it says "will be"!
This happened to us just a few days before departure & we cancelled our trip on this basis of this advice. Yet, the company would then not contemplate any form of refund or credit. Verbally said it was alright to travel - and by doing do, exposing everyone else on the train to COVID!
Unethical company with poor customer focus selling overpriced services that doesn't stand by its own written instructions.
Adelaide to Brisbane
My first train trip and will be my last! Platinum class highly overpriced, my cabin was spacious but that was it! For 3 days I froze the air con was so cold it was unbearable! I asked for it to be adjusted but nothing happened! Very unpleasant!
I think off train experiences were fairly average especially lunch at Old Parliment House was terrible! Promoted as a scrumptious lunch was far from accurate!
Waste of time stopping at Coffs Harbour!
The food was average onboard, expected much better!
The only praise I have for this trip is the st
Horrendous experience
Shockingly badly organised. Herding us on and off the trail made everything dismal. Excursions booked were, without justification, not available; alternatives were just awful.
Food less than average.
Compartment filthy with many thanks not working properly: toilet didn't flush properly, been sake lock meant safe door kept on opening cupboard door.
Whole bitter experience was an absolute rip off.
Train staff did their best but "off-train" management were clearly useless and "unavailable" > on holiday apparently.
Please avoid paying a lot for a miserable experience!
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Amazing in Theory. Abysmal in Reality
A beautiful train. A wonderful theory. Train travel from one side of Australia to the other.
Sadly let down by incompetent company
management.
A quality Australian business flogged off to international interests. Profits before customers.
The dining seating was quite small, but definitely appropriate.
What was awful was the compulsory rotational seating where every meal we would be seated with 2 strangers.
I had nothing against any of these people- but my wife & I prefer to choose our dining companions ( if any), not be marshalled by train staff.
It wouldn't be tolerated in a restaurant.
Overpriced and underwhelming.
Very disappointing experience. The train was running late just about all the way, resulting in all of train experiences being cut short and rushed. The train did not go through to Sydney, so we had to board the train at Lithgow. The train had been cleaned very poorly; our bathroom was unsatisfactory with the toilet still soiled from the previous passengers. The organization in Sydney was amateurish by Journey Beyond, considering this was not the first time this had happened. The on-train staff are excellent but this is where it ends. Management seems inept. All things considered; the cost of the "experience" does not reflex the true level of what was really a second-class experience not a Gold Class experience. The scenery was great!
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Great concept - poor management and execution
Indian Pacific, Platinum Class, Perth>Sydney, 30 Oct to 2 Mayember 2022
Like most, we booked this trip in 2022, pre-COVID for May 2020, but the WA borders were last to open, and late October 2022 was the earliest we could get. The price remained the same, but the Qantas airfares business class from Sydney to Perth increased from about $800 to nearly $3000 per person one-way during that time.
Let’s start on a positive note. The train carriages are old but well-maintained in keeping with the elegance of the time. Platinum Class (has the highest l
Questions & Answers
Why is there no response on all these poor reviews? It really reflects on the arrogance of these sites that they don't have the guts to respond. When they star losing business they will start to complain "why weren't we told?. Apparently they don't seem to care or they would be responding by now.
Its up for sale and they dont want to answer anyone as they may loose millions of dollar do to management silence the staff who work on these trains are first class its a shame management wont learn from there top staff
That is very interesting. It is a shame the Government ever sold those trains.
I would like to know,why there has been no replies from GSR,regarding these appalling bad reviews,of their service. This couldn’t care less attitude,should not be tolerated.
I've not had any positive responses from GSR about the lack of maintenance to passenger carriages. For a 3 night journey you would expect some level of comfort. Travelers would not contemplate a return journey.
I will not be going on a planned trip on their trains,solely on the poor reviews,and their lack of response to complaints. If this was my business,there would be some changes made,I can tell you! First one would be the exorbitant prices,and poor track,especially between Adelaide and Sydney.
I agree with you there Stuart! My wife and I were seriously thinking of going on the Ghan but after reading the reviews that is not going to happen. I believe the States and/or National Department of tourism should get on top of this and get it improved. The Australian Government is trying to encourage us to spend our money and time in this Country.
I feel something should be done as the complaints here demonstrate a very different company to the one we dealt with in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2016. In 2009 The Indian Pacific was delayed by 9 hours arriving in Sydney and then in leaving Sydney by 6 hours due to a truck overturning and blocking the line in South Australia. As a result, to compensate for inconvenience suffered, all passengers on the train from Sydney were given vouchers for a HALF PRICE TRIP ON ANY OF THEIR TRAINS, so we went on The Ghan the next year. I know of a lot of people who got those offers on various late running journeys in those days. The rail line between Sydney and South Australia is notorious for the roughness of the ride. All staff said the same thing. Back then I always dealt with staff at Great Southern Rail in their Head Office in Adelaide. They always answered the phone promptly and went over and above to assist me. How things have changed since 2016 when we last travelled on The Ghan. That year, thanks to a lovely lady called Honey in the Adelaide Office, we had the greatest trip we have ever had doing The Ghan both ways. The trains used to have a Red Day/Night Seat class for people such as backpackers. Also Red Kangaroo (2nd class) mid price cabins. On the 2016 trip on The Ghan staff told me the new owners wanted to turn the trains into Luxury Class and had done away with the 2 cheaper options. Thus disenfranchising and pricing out many Australians who had dreamed of doing those trips in their retirement. I have been described as a train addict as I loved those trips so much. Many of the staff on the trains had worked on them for many years under Great Southern Rail. The company was renamed Journey Beyond Rail expeditions. I am now left feeling very disillusioned. It really does not encourage Aussies to be able to see their own country the only way a train can achieve this. More so when there is no competition. The complaints seem to have started since 2016 when the company was sold by Serco to new owners who had a different vision. Covid has only made the situation worse. I am left feeling those 2 iconic trains are on borrowed time. They are certainly a lot more expensive than previously and one needs deep pockets. I certainly do not like the way people cannot get refunds for cancellations and are left high and dry mid journey to make their own arrangements with no support whatsoever. Read the comments on Facebook Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions. The complaints are numerous, and growing.
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