The Inlander

The Inlander runs 977 kilometres from Townsville, on the tropical coast of north Queensland, to the mining city of Mount Isa, in about 21 hours. It climbs inland past the gold-rush city of Charters Towers, crosses the grasslands of the north-west by night through Hughenden, Richmond and Julia Creek, and comes out at dawn among the red ridges of the Selwyn Range.

When it first ran, in February 1953, it was Queensland's first air-conditioned train, with the first air-conditioned sleeping cars in Australia — a new kind of comfort in a hot and dusty corner of the state. The line it runs on had taken half a century to build, a stretch at a time, for gold, then wool, then copper. Its last section reached Mount Isa in 1929 only because the mining company agreed to cover any losses.

Today's train is three carriages, two of Economy Seats and a lounge car, with a snack pack brought to every seat at meal times. It runs twice a week in each direction.

Townsville to Charters Towers

Westbound trains leave Townsville at 12:40 on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from the station on Charters Towers Road. The line runs south, then turns west and climbs the Haughton Range, crossing the Burdekin River near Macrossan beside the old steel bridge of 1899. Charters Towers, reached at 15:30, is a ten-minute halt and the only intermediate stop the train always makes; every other station on the line is served only when a passenger has booked to or from it.

Through the night

Beyond Charters Towers the train runs west through Pentland and Torrens Creek as the light goes. Hughenden comes at about eight in the evening, Richmond just before eleven and Julia Creek at two in the morning, all across open grazing country, and the train reaches Cloncurry at five.

Into the Selwyn Range

The last stretch, by daylight, is the best of the journey. From Cloncurry the line runs south and then south-west into the Selwyn Range, through red ground, spinifex and rocky ridges, past the hamlet of Duchess, and turns north for Mount Isa, arriving at 09:35 under the stack of the lead smelter. Eastbound trains leave Mount Isa at 13:30 on Thursdays and Sundays, so the ranges pass in the afternoon, and are back in Townsville at 10:10 the next morning.

The train

The Inlander is hauled by diesel locomotives, among them the 2800 class, built in Townsville in the 1990s for this line. It carries Economy Seats only: one carriage of 36 seats, two and one across the aisle, and another of 48, two and two. The seats recline and all face the direction of travel, with a footrest, a fold-down table and a reading light. Each carriage has two toilets and a shower. There is no buffet car: a snack pack is brought to every seat at meal times, and more snacks and drinks are sold by the crew. At the back of the lounge carriage, eight armchairs and a self-service tea and coffee station are open to everyone. The sleepers and dining car of the original train were withdrawn at the end of 2014.

The Inlander runs twice a week in each direction, all year. Westbound trains leave Townsville on Wednesday and Saturday at midday; eastbound trains leave Mount Isa on Thursday and Sunday afternoons. Every seat must be booked.

Westbound the journey takes 20 hours 55 minutes; eastbound, 20 hours 40 minutes. Times at the larger stations are arrivals, and the train waits at most of them for 10 to 20 minutes. Charters Towers is the only intermediate station where the train always stops: Pentland, Torrens Creek, Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek, Cloncurry and Duchess are served only if a passenger has booked to or from them.

The booking system shows no westbound train on Wednesday 23 December 2026. Check the date of your own train when booking.

Times are from Queensland Rail Travel's timetable, checked against its booking system for every westbound departure from mid-November 2026 to mid-March 2027 — as of October 2026. Fares are published to 31 March 2027. Check the Inlander timetable (opens in a new tab) before travelling.

Tickets are sold by Queensland Rail Travel, online, by phone or through travel agents, one way and for a seat on a named train. The cheapest are BQuick advance fares, limited in number and paid at once; AChoice is the standard fare. Shorter journeys cost less: BQuick fares start at A$22 to Charters Towers, A$76 to Julia Creek and A$93 to Cloncurry.

From 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027 the 2 for 1 Outback Rail offer lets two people travel together for one fare on the Inlander, or a single traveller for half the AChoice fare. It cannot be booked online: call 1800 872 467 or go to a Queensland Rail Travel Centre. The prices below are for travel until 31 March 2027.

Queensland Rail Travel's Queensland Explorer Pass covers the Inlander. Sold to international visitors, it costs A$299 for a month or A$389 for two, and gives unlimited Economy Seat travel on the Inlander, the Spirit of Queensland, the Tilt Train, the Spirit of the Outback and the Westlander. Every journey must still be reserved, and no more than two trips may be made between the same two stations.

Is it worth it? Not for Mount Isa and back alone: two BQuick fares come to A$222, less than the pass. It pays when the Inlander is joined to another train — up the coast from Brisbane to Townsville on the Spirit of Queensland, say. Between November and March, two people travelling together do better with the 2 for 1 Outback Rail fare.

Checked October 2026 against Queensland Rail Travel's Queensland Explorer Pass page (opens in a new tab).

Charters Towers is the one stop the train always makes. Hughenden, Richmond and Cloncurry are request stops, booked with the ticket, and the westbound train reaches them at night — so seeing any of them means breaking the journey, and with two trains a week each way, a stay of three or four days.

The night is spent in an Economy Seat, so a bed at the far end is welcome. Both places below are in the centre of Mount Isa.

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