The new Australind
Western Australia should not be forgotten when planning an Australian rail tour. One interesting trip will be aboard the new Australind which is about to go into service on the 185 km run south from Perth, to Bunbury.. This is an ideal day excursion from Perth. Bunbury was settled as early as 1936 and is important for its port as well as its swimming and surfing beaches. More recently, in 1979, Bunbury was declared a city.
The Western Australian rail system was built on the narrower 1067 mm gauge, with a standard gauge 1435 mm track being opened between Kalgoorlie and Perth in 1969 to allow through services to run from Sydney. The Australind service was introduced to Southwestern Australia in
1947. In 1960, the original train was refurbished with new on-board facilities added. It almost became an institution with its quaint, but comfortable carriages which were entered through central doors.
The new Australind is a train for the 1980 s. Built in Australia by Commonwealth Engineering, it will travel at 120 km/h and will qualify as one of the fastest narrow gauge trains in the world. The 185 km journey to Bunbury will take just two hours.
Special attention has been given by the manufacturer to ensure that interior noise is kept to a minimum in keeping with the requirements of modern passenger travel. Earlier this year West Australians had an op-
portunity to offer a name for the new train.
A competition was held with an attractive travel prize being offered, and after receiving more than 6090 entries, the Transport Minister declared that the new train would be the “Australind,” the same as the previous train.
South-western Australia offers some pleasant countryside and the Bunbury trip should not be missed, especially by those travelling with an Austrailpass.
Another rail journey not to be missed in Western Australia is between Kalgoorlie and Perth on the Prospector. Like the new Australind, the Prospector has numerous onboard facilities and catering services. It makes the 675 km journey on the standard gauge in less than eight hours.
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Press, 22 September 1987, Page 34
Word Count
348The new Australind Press, 22 September 1987, Page 34
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