When travelling around Australia, the large distances between major cities mean that flying is usually by far the quickest option. But if you live in NSW and often travel to regional destinations, train travel can be a viable and enjoyable option.

NSW TrainLink runs daily services from Sydney to Dubbo, Moree, Armidale, Grafton, Casino and Brisbane. There are also twice-daily trains from Sydney to Melbourne, thrice-daily services to Canberra, twice-weekly trains to Griffith and a weekly trip through the outback to Broken Hill.

The train may take a little longer than flying. But depending on where you’re going in regional NSW, it could be more convenient than flying. It could also be far cheaper than flying, especially if you’re travelling on a regular basis and purchase a NSW TrainLink Discovery Pass.

The NSW TrainLink Discovery Pass

For regular users of NSW TrainLink services, there is an excellent yet poorly advertised deal that can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

For a fixed price, the NSW TrainLink Discovery Pass comes with unlimited regional train and coach travel anywhere on the NSW TrainLink network. As well as travel within NSW, you can also use this pass to go to Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, and on the coach from Broken Hill to Adelaide.

The Discovery Pass is available for fixed periods of 14 days, 1 month, 3 months or 6 months. The best deal is the 6-month pass.

Unlike Japan’s JR Pass, the NSW TrainLink Discovery Pass has not seen a price increase for a long time. It continues to offer exceptional value.

Here are the prices, as listed on the NSW TrainLink website:

With a “Premium” travel pass, you’re entitled to book First Class on trains where this is available. Considering this only costs a little more than the Economy pass, it’s well worth buying a Premium pass.

At $550 for six months of unlimited First Class train travel, the 6-month Premium Pass is an outstanding deal. That’s around the same price as one return Economy flight from Sydney to Canberra.

After purchasing your Discovery Pass, you’ll be able to book any available seat on any NSW TrainLink train or coach service. You can easily book online or over the phone. Booking is possible any time before departure, however it is possible that there will be no seats left if you leave it too late to book on sold-out services.

Another key benefit of the Discovery Pass is that you can cancel without penalty. This could be useful if you need to make last-minute changes or you plan your travel at short notice.

What are NSW TrainLink services like?

Many of the NSW TrainLink XPT and Xplorer trains are starting to show their age. That said, the seats are comfortable and the on-board crews are usually very friendly. You’ll have enough space on board to get some work done, and toilets are provided at the end of each carriage.

Food and drinks are available for purchase on board. But power outlets are not available at most seats, and Wi-Fi is not available.

The main difference between Economy and First Class is that the First Class seats have 10cm more legroom and recline much further. The cabin is also a bit smaller and more private.

On overnight XPT services to Brisbane and Melbourne, you’ll also have the option to upgrade to a sleeper compartment for an additional $88. This is definitely worthwhile as you’ll get a proper bed and access to an on-board shower.

Read an AFF review of the overnight sleeper service: Melbourne to Sydney by overnight XPT train

Of course, you can’t earn frequent flyer points or status credits when travelling by train. Nonetheless, a NSW TrainLink Discovery Pass could be worth considering if you’re frequently travelling to regional NSW destinations like Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, Taree, Tamworth, Goulburn or Canberra.

Rather fly? Travel anywhere in NSW for 8,000 Qantas points…

While train travel can be enjoyable, the reality is that flying is a lot quicker. And you don’t necessarily need to spend an arm and a leg on regional flights if you have access to Qantas Frequent Flyer points.

For example, it costs 8,000 Qantas points + $44 (one-way) to fly from Moree to Sydney on an Economy Classic Reward ticket.

From Sydney, you can get to 23 destinations with Qantas or QantasLink for just 8,000 Qantas points, plus taxes & carrier charges.

With as little as one Qantas credit card sign-up bonus, such as the current Qantas Premier Titanium card offer of 150,000 bonus Qantas points, you could earn enough Qantas points to book 9 return flights on any of the routes shown above!

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.