Brisbane to Sydney by XPT
A whole day down the North Coast of New South Wales, from the border ranges to the Hawkesbury River, on the one train a day that runs it in daylight
The XPT leaves Brisbane’s Roma Street before six in the morning and reaches Sydney Central after eight at night. In between it runs the length of the North Coast. It climbs over the border ranges and crosses the Clarence at Grafton on a bridge that carries the road above the railway. Then it passes the banana country behind Coffs Harbour and follows green river valleys south to the water at Gosford.
It takes the whole day, and that is the point. It is the only way to see this coast from end to end without driving it, with nothing to do but watch it go by.
How this page was madeWe have ridden the southern part of this line twice, from Kempsey to Hornsby on Sydney’s northern edge, in 2023 and in February 2026. What we say about that stretch is our own. The rest of the line, and everything practical on this page, comes from current research, and we check it again at every review.
Last updated 6 November 2026
The route
The North Coast line was built in stages between 1905 and 1932. It was finished when the Grafton Bridge opened across the Clarence in 1932, and before that trains crossed the river by ferry. The XPT has run the Brisbane service since February 1990.
From Roma Street the train crosses the Brisbane River and heads south over the border country into New South Wales. It calls at Kyogle and Casino, crosses the Clarence at Grafton, and reaches the coast at Coffs Harbour. Then it works south through the river towns of the Mid North Coast: Nambucca Heads, Kempsey, Wauchope, Taree. It turns inland through Gloucester and Dungog to Maitland, and comes back to the sea at Gosford before the last run into Sydney.
What the rail journey is like
Riders remember green. The rayaroundoz blog, writing in August 2022 about the southbound day train, found the country after Brisbane “so lush and green” and photographed the McPherson Range, Coffs Creek and Urunga on the way. Anna of the Grace Hidden blog wrote in April 2026 from a first-class seat on a southbound train. She counted eucalyptus woods, a waterfall, the Clarence and Manning rivers, banana plantations near Coffs Harbour, and wallabies and kookaburras. She also found the views quick to pass and hard to photograph.
We joined Train 32 at Kempsey at 12.45pm in February 2026, in First, about six hours into its run. South of there the forest, hills and farmland repeat for a long time, with cattle and billabongs between the towns. After Wingham the country opens out into wide green valleys, and by Gloucester the golden afternoon light was coming across them in long shadows.
After Gosford the train runs along the water’s edge in the early evening light, then through tunnels and over the Hawkesbury into Sydney, and it felt like the closing reel of a travel film. That last hour is the strongest case for taking the train instead of the highway. Our account of that ride follows it station by station.
The carriages are more than forty years old. The seats recline, there are curtains, and the whole train has a certain faded dignity. There was no wifi, and for long stretches no mobile signal. Riders also report no power sockets, so charge everything before you go. The buffet car serves hot and cold food. Rayaroundoz found it “quite good food at very reasonable prices”, and the staff were praised in every account that mentions them.
The real test is patience. Most of the line is single track, so the train waits in passing loops for northbound and freight trains.
On our February ride it waited ten minutes at a red signal near Wauchope and stopped again for a freight train after Gloucester, and it was running eight minutes late there. Rayaroundoz left Brisbane half an hour late, was held at Telegraph Point after a medical emergency on another train, and reached Sydney about two and a half hours behind time. Anna was about an hour and a half late in April 2026.
After Gosford, sit on the left. The line runs along the shore of Brisbane Water, then dives into tunnels and comes out above the Hawkesbury River. After a long day of forest and valley, the water arrives all at once, and on our February train it came in golden early-evening light. It is a good place to put the book down.
The stages
Times are approximate. The Brisbane departure is listed as 5.45 by Transport for NSW’s September 2026 notice and 5.55 by Seat61, updated August 2026, so check the live timetable. We could not confirm times at the stations along the way; on our February ride the train left Kempsey at 12.45pm.
| Stage | From → to | Time | What you see, and which side | Stops and changes | Main constraint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Over the border | Brisbane → Casino | Leaves about 5.45 or 5.55 | The Brisbane River, then the green border country and the McPherson Range; no side recorded | Kyogle, Casino; coach links from Casino to Lismore and Byron Bay | An early start; times differ between sources |
| 2 · The Clarence | Casino → Grafton | Morning | Cattle country and the wide Clarence River, crossed on the lower deck of the Grafton Bridge | Grafton | Single track: expect waits in passing loops |
| 3 · Banana country | Grafton → Kempsey | Late morning | Banana plantations behind Coffs Harbour, then the river towns; no side recorded | Coffs Harbour, Sawtell, Urunga, Nambucca Heads, Macksville, Kempsey | Kempsey at 12.45pm on our February ride |
| 4 · The valleys | Kempsey → Maitland | Afternoon | Forest, farmland and the Manning valley; after Wingham, wide green valleys in the afternoon light | Wauchope, Kendall, Taree, Wingham, Gloucester, Dungog, Maitland | Long stretches with no mobile signal |
| 5 · To the sea | Maitland → Sydney | Arrives about 8.10pm | Brisbane Water on the left after Gosford, then tunnels and the Hawkesbury River | Broadmeadow, Wyong, Gosford, Hornsby, Strathfield, Central | In winter, with sunset around five, this stretch comes after dark |
Stops worth breaking the journey for
The line passes four places worth a night or two, and a break turns one long day into a slower trip down the coast.
Grafton
A river city on the Clarence, best known for its jacarandas, which flower purple across the town in late spring. The train crosses the double-deck bridge on its way in.
Coffs Harbour
The point where the line meets the coast, with a harbour, a long timber jetty and the banana-growing hills behind. It makes a natural halfway break. Our guide to Coffs Harbour.
Kempsey
A Macleay River town, and the station for the coast at South West Rocks and Hat Head. It is where we join the train.
Port Macquarie
The nearest station is Wauchope, a short way inland, so you finish the trip by road. Beaches, a coastal walk and a river mouth wait at the end. Our guide to Port Macquarie.
Planning the journey
Where to sit
Going south, our choice is the left, for the view of Brisbane Water after Gosford. For the rest of the line, the riders’ accounts don’t name a side. Only one commercial travel blog does, also the left going south, and it gives no basis for it.
Day train or night train?
Going north, you have two choices. A morning train runs from Sydney to Casino, with a coach for the last stretch to Brisbane. The through train leaves Sydney in the middle of the afternoon and runs overnight. Its one sleeping car has twin-berth rooms with a shared shower and toilet, according to Seat61.
The mcropod account, in a June 2024 forum post about a sleeper ride, describes a quiet ride in a nearly empty car. But it also notes that “it got dark around Gosford”, so the night train shows you almost nothing of the North Coast. It reaches Brisbane at about 4.53am, an hour earlier when New South Wales is on summer time. A regular sleeper rider on a 2024 forum called it “not so bad aside from the early arrival”.
Take the day train south if the journey is the point. The night train north is a comfortable way to cover the distance, but it trades the view for a bed and a very early morning in Brisbane.
Classes and what they include
Economy: reclining seats in open carriages. First: about two inches more legroom and a deeper recline, by Seat61’s account. Sleeper: twin-berth rooms in one car, on the overnight northbound train only.
Booking, passes and fares
Every seat has to be booked, and most trains open for booking 180 days ahead, through Transport for NSW’s regional booking site. Seat61 says the sleeper can only be booked by phone. Seat61’s example one-way fares, updated August 2026, are A$117 in Economy, A$164 in First and A$243 for a sleeper berth. Transport for NSW says its Online Saver fares can be up to 35% cheaper (undated page, read 6 November 2026), so book early.
To break the journey, look at the Discovery Pass. Transport for NSW’s pass page (undated, read 6 November 2026) lists Economy passes at A$232 for 14 days, A$275 for a month, A$298 for three months and A$420 for six months. It is not a ticket in itself: you still reserve each train, but stopping at Grafton or Coffs Harbour then costs nothing extra.
One way or there and back?
One way is enough. The day train south is the ride, and coming back the same way costs another full day. Pair it with a flight, or with the night train if you would rather sleep than look.
Travelling with a mobility need, and luggage
Transport for NSW marks the accessible stations on its timetable. It asks you to book accessible seating and help through its booking line, on 13 22 32. We could not find published details of an accessible sleeper or accessible toilets on board, so ask when you book. The official luggage limits were not on any page we could read, so check them before you pack. Riders say you can sleep in the seats, but a long day in one is easier with a pillow and your own food and water.
If the journey breaks down
A little slack makes this line easy to enjoy:
- Don’t plan a tight connection at the Sydney end. Delays of one to two and a half hours appear in recent accounts.
- Check Transport for NSW’s regional trackwork notices before you travel. Coaches replace trains on some sections during works; in September 2026, for example, coaches ran between Casino and Brisbane for twelve days.
- On the overnight train, confirm whether it runs right through to Brisbane. One 2024 rider’s sleeper ended at Casino, with a coach for the last stretch, and published sources don’t agree on how often that happens.
- A new fleet is being built to replace the XPT. The first new trains are planned for the Dubbo line. We found no date for the North Coast, and the government’s August 2026 release on the new fleet does not mention this line.
A final word on the Brisbane to Sydney train
It takes all day, it may well run late, and the train has been in service for more than forty years. But nothing else shows you the whole North Coast at once, from the border hills to Brisbane Water. Go south, go in summer, and keep the left-hand window for the end.
Andrew + Margaret
- Rail journeys Journeys
- The Mid and Northern NSW coast by rail Our trip
- Day 15: Southbound again Our trip
- The TranzAlpine Journeys
- Brisbane Overview
- Sydney Overview
Why do the Brisbane times change in summer?
New South Wales moves its clocks forward in summer and Queensland does not, so the Brisbane end of the timetable shifts by an hour. The overnight train’s arrival moves from about 4.53am to 3.53am.
Can I break the journey on one ticket?
We could not find the stopover rules for an ordinary ticket, so ask when you book. A Discovery Pass covers as many stops as you like within its dates, but you still reserve each train.