Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Australian Train Pensioner/Student Concessions

Hi all!

Visiting Oz in about a month's time (though leaving the U.S. in two weeks--we have a couple weeks in Singapore/Southeast Asia on the way). It's finally starting to hit me that I'm actually going, so I'm starting to do some research (I usually travel more or less by the seat of my pants, but I figure it's good to get at least a bit of an idea of a few key things before heading off).

Anyway, the first question I had (I'll probably be posting lots of others!) is about the concessions offered on some of the Australian railway systems--specifically, we're looking at a few trips: Sydney to Brisbane, Brisbane to Cairns, and then later possibly Melbourne to Sydney.

I see on some of the railway company websites that discounts may be offered to authorized pensioners and students. I believe I've also seen reference to similar discounts being offered other places, not just on the railways.

Quick background: I will be traveling with my grandfather, who is 75, and I am a 24-year-old part-time university student. I also have a Student Advantage card (not generally recognized outside of the U.S., I realize) and was a former ISIC cardholder (might be able to get that reinstated if need be).

Do either of us qualify for any of these discounts? If not immediately (simply by age/university ID), are there any ways to apply for something that would give us these discounts?

I did a search and came across one thread that touched briefly on this, but there was only really one quick post that seemed to indicate a negative (at least for the pensioner discount):

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=354217&highlight=pensioner

Thanks much in advance for any assistance!

In NSW do not expect a student discount as it is only for NSw resident students with a NSW current student card (e.g University of Sydney).

You might ask Rudi and other regulars about their Senior travel experiences in Australia - in the Seniors Travel forum, as it is largely focused on this topic. Consolidated Senior discount thread for local travel (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=821217).

In NSW I believe a Pensioner Concession Card or Seniors Card, for local residents only, is required for pensioner prices (http://www.131500.com.au/faresandpasses/pensioner_excursion.asp). For NSW 131500.info (http://www.131500.info) is a good place to start as you will find info on trains and buses.

That's the easy part.

For long distance travel I would highly recommend budget airline flights which are often on sale.
Go to the Other Australian/Asian forum to find some deals. JetStar, Virgin Blue and Tiger might offer sale fares for around $50-60 each way, which will likely cost less than train or bus tickets.
Just google each airline and sale. JetStar and Virgin Blue usually match each other's sales, so check both.

FYI here is today's JetStar sale:
Goodbye Winter Sale (http://email.jetmail.net.au/cts/click?q=64;23477;Ls5n5Y6YkKquRaRs0hOEHckca%2BFB%2F JVk)

Melbourne (Avalon) - Sydney $49 o/way. Might be useful for tht sector. MEL-BNE is $89.
Both are $10 more if you are bringing >10kg checked luggage.

Completely concur regarding long distance travel in Oz - take the plane.

Bear in mind that Avalon is a bit further out from Melbourne itself than our main airport - Tullamarine. Virgin and Tiger fly in/out of Tullamarine, but Jetstar does some of its main services in/out of Avalon.

I believe the ISIC card allows for concession on interstate train travel, if that is still something you're considering. Whilst our trains aren't travelling deathtraps, they don't really offer the amount of comfort compared to Japanese/Western Europe counterparts.

I also have a Student Advantage card (not generally recognized outside of the U.S., I realize) and was a former ISIC cardholder (might be able to get that reinstated if need be).


Although the parent company of the Student Advantage card has significant presence in NSW, the Student Advantage division has no presence in NSW or elsewhere in Australia.

Well, normally I would have considered a plane (and I do realize that air travel is often cheaper), but I have two factors pushing me to look at trains:

1. We likely won't be covering these same legs by car (we're picking up a car in Cairns and dropping it off somewhere in South Australia (not sure exactly yet--we're borrowing it from a friend), and we want to see any scenery (or even just the lay of the land--the whole point of this two-month trip is to really get a feel for Australia, and that can be done much better on the ground than in the air), and

2. I'm a bit of a railfan, and while I'm also an aviation nerd, too, I really like taking trains over planes.

We may end up looking at either the Indian Pacific or the Ghan (or both), too (hey, I said I was a railfan, and those are two of the world's greatest journeys!), but those get pretty pricey (unless I can get one or both of those discounts!).

Thanks for all the help!