Ed Sheeran has shown locals the way to travel. Photo: Christopher Johnson/Wikipedia. Image altered by AI.
Global superstar Ed Sheeran was in Wagga Wagga at about 2:52 am Thursday morning last week, even though nobody in town knew it.
The singer had taken the overnight XPT from Sydney to his next concert venue in Melbourne – a service that also stopped in Junee and Cootamundra.
This raises an obvious question: if someone who can afford a private jet chooses an 11-hour journey by rail, why do so few Riverina locals travel this way to either Sydney or Melbourne – especially at a time when regional airfares are skyrocketing?
Region reached out to Mr Sheeran to ask what motivated him to board the XPT instead of flying to Melbourne, but he surprisingly hasn’t responded (yet).
Other media speculated the decision may have been to impress his wife, Cherry Seaborn, an environmental consultant who reportedly “strongly encourages” her husband to use public transport to reduce his carbon footprint.
That’s a good enough reason to travel by land. But for those of us who don’t have a net worth of $700 million, price is an even better one.
A one-way flight from Wagga to Sydney this weekend could cost around $400. The XPT, by comparison, costs about $64.
Travelling to Melbourne – where Qantas has recently abandoned its Wagga to Melbourne route – means rail is increasingly becoming one of the few affordable options.
In Griffith, which has no direct flights to Melbourne and where people have paid more than $600 to reach Sydney by air, the difference is even more stark.
Yet I’d hazard a guess that most locals have never seriously considered travelling this way. Many will still happily drive instead – even though finding a parking spot in the city can feel like winning the lottery, and the price of keeping your vehicle there often rivals the train ticket itself.
Sure, the train journey to the major cities takes five to six hours. But as anyone who has spent long stretches waiting for delayed Rex Airlines flights will tell you, there’s always a chance you could arrive sooner by rail.
Governments are often ridiculed for their lack of investment in rail infrastructure, their broken promises about high-speed services and their failure to upgrade the XPT.
But a recent review of the Melbourne to Sydney XPT by worldwide travel blogger Stefan Drury suggests the experience is more than tolerable.
“I’m enjoying this – I get to see lots of kangaroos and plenty of cows. I got myself a tea, a banana; life onboard is good,” he said during the trip.
“I thought it would be a lot noisier but it’s actually quiet … it felt like a fun holiday coach trip.”
He added that Transport for NSW staff were fantastic, helping elderly travellers on and off and cracking jokes to break up the journey.
Travellers can also order a hot meal on the Albury to Sydney leg, which includes butter chicken and rice or a Moroccan vegetarian tagine. This sounds better than the crackers and water you’re given on a Qantas flight.
Mr Drury also noted that overnight train services allow people to save the cost of a night’s accommodation.
“There’s also a price hack,” he said.
“Instead of booking a single ticket from Melbourne to Sydney, you can get a ticket from Melbourne to Albury on the local service for $7.60, then catch the XPT from Albury to Sydney for $78, which saves you $13.40 on the regular economy fare.”
None of this will turn the XPT into a Japanese bullet train overnight. It’s slower, older and occasionally creakier than anyone would like.
But as Ed Sheeran quietly demonstrated while the rest of Wagga slept, sometimes the simplest option – a comfy seat, a window and a few kangaroos along the way – might not be such a bad way to travel after all.
And if it’s good enough for a global superstar worth hundreds of millions, it might just be good enough for the rest of us.
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.
