Originally Posted by
petit_manchot
There are 2 trains between Sydney and Melbourne daily. But given the choice I would take a 1 hour flight over an 11hr train journey, particularly since the train can be more expensive than flying.
Given the population of Australia (~24mill) and its vast distances, there’s little incentive for governments to improve the rail network, or for passengers to choose the train over flying or driving.
When I were there in October last year, there were only one train per day. I took the train just because I wanted to try it.
In my view there is a basis for more trains in Australia, but I also understand traveling habits are different in Australia than in Europa and it might be hard to get people to use the trains now that they are used to fly or use the cars. Australia is unique with the majority of the population being concentrated in the larger cities. There are not many small cities spread all over the country like in Europa. This is actually an advantage for train service, so I believe the basis is there, but trains in Australia has such a bad reputation that it's almost impossible to get anyone to invest in trains in Australia.